


Like Footprints in the Snow

by HinatasShadow



Series: Keep What You Love [1]
Category: Final Fantasy VII, Kingdom Hearts, Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle
Genre: Cubs, F/M, I do not own any of the included series, I needed more characters, Kittens, M/M, Mating Cycles/In Heat, Mpreg, Nekos, Rape/Non-con Elements, Yaoi, not really a cross-over fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-05-20
Updated: 2013-06-05
Packaged: 2017-12-12 10:47:05
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con, Underage
Chapters: 11
Words: 28,725
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/810709
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HinatasShadow/pseuds/HinatasShadow
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Snow shifts and changes by the wills of the elements, and like snow, the life of a neko changes constantly. With threats coming from all sides, Cloud must try to survive in this dangerous world. But will he make it out alive, or will fate call for a different ending.</p><p>Side story to accompany Pouring Rain</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue: Storm

Prologue

The wind releases slow haunting moans and howls as it whips endlessly though the twists and turns of Mount Nibel. Snow descends rapidly and silently as the wind masks its approach, creating even more danger for anyone foolish enough to venture out on such a night. With the moon hidden behind thick storm clouds, nothing can be seen, and nothing heard as the storm prepares its vengeance.

Despite the cruel weather, two hooded figures struggle through the wind and snow, desperation fueling their determination. One figure struggles to maintain a hold on the hand of the other as they slip through the snow, while the other tries to pull its companion forward with even more urgency. The two struggle to remain upright as the wind grows with every step they manage to take.

A particularly harsh gust of wind blows the hood back from one of the figures, revealing rich chocolate colored hair, highlighted with a few stray silver strands, which are blown away from a pale heart shaped face. Clear pale green eyes flutter against the wind, and the woman's lips hold a slight bluish ting in cold. Two chocolate covered ears perk upright once again as the wind seems to settle for a moment. The other figure steps back towards the woman, and after smoothing her hair back into place, wordlessly replaces the hood back onto her head.

The two share a worried glace at their surroundings, taking even more care as soon even their own enhanced vision becomes impaired with the worsening weather.

As the snow falls harder and faster, and with the wind's howling reaching a fever pitch, the couple seek refuge in a small cave that is mostly protected by the elements by a few trees and some scattered boulders. And while the two of them can barely fit inside the small opening together, they somehow manage to squeeze inside.

They stay inside the small cave for hours, trying to wait out the storm, but also trying to keep the other from falling asleep and falling in to the clutches of the cold. The two mates may be physically close, but even their own heat seems to be failing them as the storm rages on.

As the storm reaches its final climax, the woman's eyes snap open in wide fear as the sound of a child's wail seems to mix in with the already howling winds. Images of some of the nightmarish creatures she and her mate had encountered in earlier days creep into her mind, and she presses herself even closer to her mate, willing the nightmares away. Sensing her distress, he pulls her close, praying that no monster find them there, for he knows that neither of them would be able to fight it off for very long.

Eventually the winds begin to die down, and while the wailing seems to come and go, eventually it too falls silent. Once the snow stops falling as harshly, the two nekos deem it safe enough to continue the rest of their journey, and possibly by nightfall, all of this will seem like just a bad dream.

The two step out of the cave and are greeted with a sort of gray twilight masking the colors of the mountain with shades of white and gray. The two take a moment to take in this strange sight before setting out once again, praying that the weather will stay calm enough for them to finish their decent.

After nearly fifteen minutes of walking, the woman suddenly trips in the deep snow, sending her slipping down the mountain for a few feet before coming to a halt. She stands slowly, carefully placing her feet as she climbs back up the mountain those few feet back to her mate.

As she nears the spot where she tripped, she feels something abnormal underneath her feet. She steps to the side to see what she stepped on, but something else is there too. Curious now, as to what she could have possibly stepped on that is that large, she kneels a few steps back and begins to dig through the deep snow.

Within a few minutes, she has dug through roughly two feet of the newly deposited snow. Her fingers are starting to grow numb, and her mate is urging her to continue on their journey. However, she feels a pull to keep digging, as though something is waiting for her beneath the snow.

As her mate steps forward to pull her from her digging, she pauses, a dark piece of cloth in her hand as she looks to her mate, fear in her eyes. The cloth is covering the pale blueness of an arm that has been revealed by the woman's digging. When her mate sees what she has discovered, he quickly kneels beside her, and the two of them begin to dig frantically through the snow, hoping against hope that whoever is buried, might still be alive.

Soon they have the form of a petite woman free from the snow. Unfortunately, the stiffness of her limbs and her frozen, empty eyes indicate that whoever she may be, she has been dead for at least a few hours. The thing that stand out most about the frozen woman is the fact that she is human, and with so few of them in the area, to find one alone on the mountain, and in the middle of a storm no less, is very suspicious.

The two neko look for something visually discerning to identify the woman by, to at least let the proper authorities know where she is and possibly who she was. The only sort of immediate identification that they can find is a pentagram that has been tattooed to her forehead. With no unusual design to make the pentagram, the two figure that they will easily remember the design.

The two stand and make to leave, but something makes the female neko turn back to the body one last time. She doesn't know what makes her do it, just like when she was digging, but she looks once more. When she does, her heart nearly stops.

The frozen woman they found was on her side when they unburied her, but something just under her side is making the material of her traveling cloak move very gently. Fearing that some wild animal has come to eat off of the body, the neko woman rushes back, intent on chasing off any small carnivores.

When she comes close to the moving piece of cloth, it suddenly stops moving and becomes as still as it was after it was initially unburied. The neko reaches down and throws back the cloth hiding the potential threat.

When she suddenly gives a sharp intake of breath, even her mate who is now several feet ahead of her, having not noticed that she turned back again, stops in his tracks and turns to see his mate standing with the frozen human once again. As he turns and walks back to her, he sees her bend down and lift something from the body. As he crosses the last few feet to his mate, he is shocked when she turns to him with tears in her eyes.

"We almost left it. We almost let it freeze to death too. We almost let it die."

Confused by what his mate is trying to say, he takes a look at the thing in her arms, and guilt rushes through him.

There in her arms is a very small neko kitten. Its eyes are closed, and its pale skin holds an unhealthy bluish tinge while it's breathing is far too shallow. Pale golden hair spikes up from its small head, and there folded on the sides of its head much like a newborn, are two pure white ears.

The man carefully lifts the kitten from his mate's arms, feeling how cold its skin is, and how snow clings to the single thin blanket that it is wrapped in. He pulls off his own traveling cloak and wraps it securely around the kitten, makings sure that the warmest parts are the closest to it, he hands it back to his mate.

Knowing now that reaching a settlement has now become a matter of life and death, the two nekos redouble their efforts as they race down the mountain.

….

Night falls all too quickly, brining with it even colder temperatures, and the wind and snow begin to pick up once more. However, lights flicker in the distance, indicating that a village is nearby.

The two nekos are now exhausted beyond their limits, but the sight of the lights allows them to gather the last of their strength. With their worry for each other, and now for the kitten traveling with them, they press onward. Hoping that the cold has not already overtaken them, fooling them with the hope of heat.

Nearly an hour later, they stumble into the small mountain village. Lights seem to dance around them as they try to figure out if there is an inn in this village, of if they should just knock on someone's door, hoping that someone would take them in.

Luck seems to be with them as they find one brightly lit building proudly proclaiming itself to be an inn. The two shuffle through the snow to the set of double doors, carefully opening them, and practically melting into the welcoming heat.

The moment that they two make it fully in the doors, a rather large male neko with black hair and ears rushes up to them and guides them over to a roaring fire, mumbling the whole time about how lucky they were to be alive after the storm. He rushes to bring them some water, and a cup of warm coffee for each of them, not wanting them to fall to the cold that they just managed to escape from.

After an hour or so in front of the fire, the woman notices that the kitten in her arms does not seem to be warming up at all. Its breathing is seven slower and shallower. She looks to her mate, letting her eyes convey her concern, and after a nod from him, she runs up to the keeper of the inn.

She knows that now is not the time for the whole story of how she found this kitten, so she simply tells him that her kitten is still frozen, and not even the fire is helping.

His brow furrows in concern and he has her follow him as he quickly strides further into the inn. She follows him into a more personal section, most likely his own living area, and he quickly introduces her to his mate. He explains how they have a kitten of their own who isn't quite a year old yet, so maybe some of her old things might be able to help for now. Especially since they do have a smaller tub that they can fill with warm water to help her kitten warm up in, and some old clothes that might fit, once it has warmed up to a safer temperature.

She gratefully accepts their offers, and the Innkeeper's mate steers her into a modest bathroom. She is then left alone as the other neko rushes off to find the small tub, but not for long as the woman returns in less than a minute. The already experienced mother helps her to find a good temperature for the water before filling the small tub and setting it inside the normal sized one.

The Innkeeper's mate leaves them, saying that she needs to check on her daughter Tifa, and that she will go look for clothes for the kitten in the process. The traveler thanks her once again for her generosity, and once the mother has left, carefully unwraps her new kitten from its many layers.

Finally seeing all of her kitten for the first time, the woman is a bit surprised to find out that this kitten is male. She quickly recovers from her small shock and carefully sets the kitten in the tub of warm water, willing for him to warm up.

Slowly but surely, she sees the bluish tint retreat from his pale skin, and sees his breaths become deeper, and steadier. She changes out the water a few times, before it becomes too cold, and each time, it still continues to help even more. Though he still continues to sleep, she does not let that concern her as she decides to start cleaning him off, now that he is warmed up.

It is while she is cleaning him that she notices something strange, for such a small kitten, his tail is unnaturally long. In fact, it is nearly as long as he is tall. She shrugs it off, thinking that this must just be the way it is with kitten, having had none of her own to compare.

She then takes him out of the cooling water, and wraps him securely in a blanket before leaving the bathroom in search of the Innkeeper's mate. She finds her just outside of the door, with a small pile of kitten clothes waiting. As she approaches, the new mother carefully lifts the kitten from her arms and unwraps him just a bit, to see just what size he would need.

When he is unwrapped, the new mother's face turns into a slight scowl. Her eyes dart between the kitten, and the woman that is obviously not his mother. Still, she is not going to take it out on the kitten, and searches for something that just might fit such a small kitten. She manages to find a blue one-piece that while still quite big for him, is the closest fit that she has from her own daughter.

After he is wrapped in some warm blankets, she regretfully gives him back to the woman that came in with him, questions darting through her mind the whole time. The woman thanks her before heading back towards the front of the inn, and presumably, back to her mate.

When the chocolate haired neko reaches the front, she is greeted by the Innkeeper who frantically steers her to a room on the next floor. Inside this room she sees her mate lying unconscious on the bed, and another neko leaning over him and taking his temperature. Hearing the approaching nekos, the doctor gives a small smile before reassuring everyone that the man is fine, just suffering from dehydration.

As he goes to get up to leave, the Innkeeper suggests that the doctor take a look at the traveler's kitten, just to make sure that there is no permanent damage. He agrees and goes to take the kitten from her arms, but she holds him close, refusing to let go of the kitten.

An argument between the doctor and she begins, but it is stopped quickly by the Innkeeper when he pulls the kitten from her arms. However, in the process, the blanket that the kitten has been wrapped in is pulled off.

There is a moment of silence before the doctor snarls at the woman. "Thief! That kitten is clearly from another, how dare you try to keep it as your own!"

She interjects, "But wait, you don't know what happened. I didn't steal –"

"Thief! And now to bring this kitten here, to endanger even further, how can you still plead for your own innocence?"

"I didn't steal him! My mate and I found him –"

The doctor raises a hand to cut her off; he takes a closer look at the kitten the Innkeeper is holding. His eyes widen, and his voice drops. "I don't know how you got that kitten. Whether you stole it, or found it, it matters not. How could you keep it, and bring it here. Why did you bring this curse upon us?"

The woman's eyes narrow. "I don't know what you're talking about. How could this kitten possibly be a curse to anyone?"

"This 'kitten' is a born killer. All snow leopards are. And now you have brought a killer into our midst, without a single thought to the consequences."

Suddenly the voice of the neko on the bed breaks through. "Enough. My mate and I have traveled very far and are exhausted. We have paid our dues for the room, and are more than willing to compensate you for the use of the bath and clothes for our kitten. Now, if you would be so kind as to leave us in peace, I can assure you that we will leave first thing tomorrow."

The Innkeeper looks like he would like to protest, but sighs in resignation. "Fine, but I want all of you out by first light."

He thrusts the sleeping kitten back into her arms and stomps out of the room with the doctor in tow, leaving the two mates and their kitten alone.

The woman rushes over to her mate, feeling grateful when he wraps his arms around her. "So what do you want to do with, a him you said it is?"

She gives a small smile. "I don't care what they say. I want to keep him. If nothing else but to prove to them that he isn't a killer."

She smiles a bit more when she feels her mate press his lips to her forehead. "What should we call him then?"

"Cloud. We'll call him Cloud and give him your last name. So I guess that makes him Cloud Strife."


	2. Newcomers

Chapter 1

Cloud Strife bows his head slightly at the graves before him. The wind whips around him, tugging at his long oversized coat, and threatening to throw back the large hood. His fingers tremble slightly as the wind tries to free the gift from his hands.

Gently, he reaches out a single hand to wipe the snow off of the two small gravestones, the only remaining indications that the man and woman he knew as father and mother ever existed. As he clears off the snow, he lets his hand trace the outline of each letter of their names, letting memories drift through his mind.

Like when he was four and his father took him out hunting for the first time, and how proud his mother looked when he brought back the pheasant he had caught that same day.

Or when he was five and his father and mother were called before the village council. He didn't really know what happened in that room as he was left out in the hall, but he heard plenty of shouting and his name mentioned several times to know that the meeting must have been about him. After all, just two days after the meeting, his family moved into a small long abandoned house near the center of town.

He remembers that barely a year later, his father caught pneumonia, and not matter how much they begged the doctor to come and help him, the man refused to come. Two days later, his father died. A small funeral was held; the only ones in attendance besides the mortician were Cloud and his mother.

As he traces his fingers over the last letters of his mother's grave, he recalls what she told him just days before she died. She had told him everything. About how he was found, about how that was part of the reason the villagers did not trust this family, about how him being of snow leopard origins increased their unfounded distrust. And finally she told him the most important thing of all. That the reason his ears never perked up like all the other kid's ears did, is because he is a Bearer. One of the very few male nekos in existence that have the ability to carry a litter, just like a female.

He remembers being angry at this news, feeling that it was just something to set him apart from the other kids around his age. He knew that they had enough reasons to tease him before, but he didn't know what he would do if they ever found out about something like this. He also remembered feeling rather awkward about it, as he had just realized his feelings for Tifa.

After hearing the truth, he had run from his home, away from everything he knew. He climbed high on the mountain to his favorite spot. He stayed there for hours, trying to take in everything he was told, to try to grasp it as a possible reality. The cold mountain air was what had finally convinced him to come home. He knew that he would be fine in lower temperatures like this, but at the same time, he would rather be in the warmth of his small house then out in the cold any day. When he returned home, he had found his mother still awake and waiting for him, despite the late hour. Neither one said a word, but simply went their own ways as they prepared for bed.

It took them several days before they started to talk again. It was very tense at first, neither one wanting to bring up the last topic, nor make the other angry. So in the end, they just acted like the last conversation had never happened, and continued on with life.

The next day, the mountain shook as an avalanche from further up rushed towards the base. Cloud and his mother had been out hunting at the time, not straying too far from the village. When they felt the shake, they immediately forgot the hunt in favor of returning to safety, but in the end, they could not outrun the rush of snow.

They were caught up in the flow, desperately trying to reach for one another, only to miss each other by mere inches. They quickly became separated. Cloud was lucky enough to grab the branch of a nearby tree and able to pull himself away from the snow, but his mother was not as lucky.

As soon as the avalanche and passed, he had leapt from the tree, and began to call out for his mother. He searched for what felt like many anxious hours before he caught a brief glimpse of her hair floating gently away from a tree. He ran to the tree, mortified by what he found.

The snow had carried her a fair distance down the mountain, but with no control of her direction or speed, she had ended up impaled on a lower branch of one of the many dead pine trees. Her eyes still help some light of life in them, but the blood slowly trickling from her mouth and nose indicated that her time was short.

Cloud had been unsure of what to do, so he managed to break off the branch behind his mother, and as carefully and gently as he could, carried her back to the village. He knew the doctor would most likely not help him, but he knew that going to see that man was his mother's only chance.

The man never even bothered to answer the door, despite the fact that he could clearly be seen reading a book by a roaring fire through the window by the door.

He brought his mother home, but by then, the blood loss proved to be too much, and she was dead before he was able to lay her on her bed. The following day her funeral was held, this time it was only Cloud who stayed to morn her loss.

Today Cloud is still the only one to stand at her and her mate's graves.

As he lets his fingers drift away from the lettering, he separates his gift into two bunches. He carefully sets the bright flowers on each of the graves; feeling as though the bright flowers will never be enough to repay all that these two had done for him.

As he bows to the graves on last time in preparation for his departure, a voice startles him.

"You know, I'll never understand why people leave flowers at the graves of others. I mean I understand the sentiment, but flowers are so temporary, and if someone is dead, they can't even appreciate them for long. And then after a while people even stop bringing flowers with them, and before you know it, they stop visiting all together."

Cloud turns to see who has spoken such offending words, but finds himself at a loss of words at the neko before him. The first thing Cloud notices are his eyes, a near violet color with subtle hits of bright blue flecked within, making them incredibly bright. His eyes are also offset perfectly by his raven hair that frames his face in what appears to be carefully placed spikes. Two midnight ears swivel curiously about, and a matching tail practically wags as he notices Cloud's attention on him.

Cloud turns away to hide his obvious staring. He speaks back to the strange, hoping that is voice is stronger than it feels. "You shouldn't insult the dead. Nor the efforts made by the living to honor them in what ways we can."

The raven neko backs up and puts his hands in the air. "I never meant any disrespect, I'm simply stating my observations."

Cloud's eyes narrow, "Well unless you have some business here, I suggest you leave so that you don't insult the dead further."

He turns to leave but the raven-haired neko grabs his arm, effectively stopping him. "Well actually I came here because I saw someone at one of the graves. You see, me and some of my friends are trying to find somewhere to stay for the night, but we don't exactly know where we are. Do you think you could help us out? You know, maybe show us where an inn is or something like that?"

Cloud tries to pull away, but the grip remains. He makes the mistake of looking into the eyes of the raven, seeing for himself the sincerity of the raven's request. He bows his head slightly in defeat. "Fine, but I at least want a name from you. That way if something happens, I know who to blame."

The raven laughs and releases his arm and gives him an exaggerated bow. "First Class SOLIDER, Zackary Fair at your service."

As Zack straightens, Cloud crosses his arms. "Is that supposed to mean something to me?"

Zack laughs and slaps Cloud on the shoulder, effectively sending him into a nearby snowdrift. As he tries to stand, his hood is thrown back allowing his hair to spring free of its confines.

"Finally, someone who has spikier hair than me!" Zack grins and offers a hand to Cloud, an offer that is ignored. "Aww, don't be like that Spike."

As Cloud stands, he shoots Zack an annoyed glare. "Are you here just to make fun, or didn't you say that you left your friends out in the snow somewhere."

Zack's grin grows larger. "So you were paying attention." He abruptly runs off a ways before turning back. "You coming or what?"

Cloud sighs, before dusting extra snow off of his coat and pants. He watches Zack's antics that are meant to encourage him to come faster. Eventually he gives in, and slowly makes his way to Zack.

Their antics continue like that as the journey progresses. Zack runs ahead while Cloud just shakes his head and follows steadily behind, often warning Zack to watch out for various hazards as he runs carefree across the mountain.

Within an hour, Zack races ahead once more, only this time he disappears in a denser patch of trees. Cloud stops just outside of the patch as bits and pieces of voices and conversations drift out to him. For the first time he truly doubts his decision of blindly following this strange energetic neko across the mountain, without any solid proof of his intentions.

Shaking his head, he casts his fears aside, knowing that he is already in too deep, and far to close to back out now. With a bit of reluctance, he moves branches out of his way as he walks into a clearing.

As he emerges through the trees, Zack rushes over and catches his wrist, pulling him closer to the others who are busy rearranging their supplies. "Everyone, this is Spikey. He's going to help us find somewhere to stay tonight. Isn't that right, Spike?"

Cloud slowly nods his head, but his eyes never leave the small group of nekos in front of him. Eight in total, including Zack. Three women, and five men. All of them looking much older, and far more experienced with life than he.

He notices that one man in particular, one with his midnight hair pulled back revealing an olive skin tone, and with his ears pricked forward in caution, has been watching him closely ever since he stepped into the clearing. Another one, one of the women as been watching him too, only she keeps giving him a small, almost sad smile from behind her light brown locks.

He quickly looks away from their gazes. He pulls his hood back over his now white and black spotted ears, trying to encourage their gaze to go elsewhere.

Before he can find out if it works or not, Zack quickly ushers everyone towards Cloud, smiling the whole time. "Ok Spikey, looks like everyone is ready to go. Lead on my friend."

Once again, Cloud gives a slight nod and turns out of the clearing and back towards the village, never once looking behind him.

….

Twilight is clear in the sky by the time the group reaches the village. Small lights dot the street as people begin to catch sight of them. One light breaks away from the others and makes its way towards them.

As the light grows closer, Cloud allows himself a small smile when he sees Tifa coming to greet them. Even though he knows that her father has forbidden them to interact with each other, he is still grateful for her efforts to include him against her father's will.

When she is close enough to see him she calls out, "Cloud? Cloud! Where have you been? The whole village has been looking for you!" As she takes a moment to stop and try to find some clue from his carefully blank expression, she catches sight of the nekos behind him. "Cloud? What is this? Who are these people?"

He gives her a small shrug, and continues towards the village. At this point he feel that he will be more than happy once the group is out of his care, and at the destination they wanted. He ignores the sounds of the other villagers coming to see just whom Tifa found, and he simply continues across the town square to the Inn despite the others calling for him to stop.

When he reaches the Inn, he stops and turns to the group only to find Zack just steps away from him. "This is what you wanted. Now if you'll excuse me, I'll be on my way."

Zack catches his wrist once more. "If we've done anything to apologize, but why are you acting this way?"

Cloud responds with a glare. He opens his mouth to speak, but a voice silences him.

"Cloud! Just where do you think you've been? You know that you are not allowed to leave the boundaries of this village except to hunt with one of the other villagers." Mr. Lockhart stops for a moment to gather his breath. "Return to you home immediately. I'll be by later after your punishment has been decided."

Cloud turns to leave, but stops as Zack refuses to release his wrist. He turns to Zack, only to find him staring at Mr. Lockhart. A hard look graces his features, transforming him into something far more intimidating than what Cloud has seen from him. "There is no need to rush into any sort of punishment. It was my fault that he disappeared. I ran into him at a graveyard and asked for his assistance leading the rest of my group to this village. He hadn't wanted to at first, and now I see why, but I pressured him into it. He is not in the wrong here."

Mr. Lockhart looks to be at a loss for words for a moment, but quickly recovers. "Be that as it may Mr.?"

"Zack, First Class SOLIDER Zack Fair."

Mr. Lockhart's eyes widen in shock, but he quickly regains his composure. "Be that as it may Mr. Fair, but this boy knew what he was doing. And now he will suffer the consequences of his actions." He turns back to Cloud. "Go, I'll deal with you later."

Cloud tries to pull away again, but Zack refuses to relinquish the hold on his wrist. Growing frustrated with himself and the situation, Cloud uses greater force than he would like to pull his hand free. Once the grip is gone, he heads back to his cabin, refusing to indulge his curiosity and look back at the figures of Zack Fair and Mr. Lockhart.

He retreats into the small house that the village leaders insist that he and his family stay in. A house that would keep him close in case anything were to happen and he acted like they believed he would, and to help safeguard their good luck charm. A house that holds many negative connotations to Cloud, but in the end, is still home.

As he works to bring a small fire to life to provide heat and light to the small building, there is a knock at his door. Dreading the lecture from Mr. Lockhart, Cloud procrastinates his tending of the fire a little longer. However, the knocking is persistent.

Finally Cloud gives in to the noise and crosses the short distance to the door. He throws the door open, expecting to be yelled at for taking his time, he is surprised to find Zack smiling at him.

"Hey there Spike. It seems that the Inn's a bit overcrowded right now, so I was wondering if I could room with you for the night?"

Cloud stares at him for a moment before slamming the door in his face.

The pounding on the door resumes and a muffled voice is heard drifting in from outside. "Oh come on Spike. It's just for one night."

Cloud stands there, staring at the door as if it would somehow block out the excess noise. When that fails to occur, he throws the door open once more.

"Fine, but one night only."


	3. Heat

Chapter 2

One night turned into two.

Two into a week.

And a week into a month.

For a while, Cloud wondered if he was going to get into trouble because of Zack staying with him, but when that first month passed, his fears were eased. However, he began to wonder if his couch would ever see a night were it was not occupied.

Those whom he had led to the village decided after much talk amongst themselves and the other villagers that they would remain there until further notice. This led to an immediate need for more houses to be built around the village to accommodate them, especially since that group contains two mated pairs who were anxious to no longer have to share rooms with others, even if those others are their friends.

As to be expected, the village quickly pulled itself together to make sure that these homes were in place before the winter fully hit, before it could force any more construction to come to a halt. By the time that their first month passed, the mated pairs of Tseng and Elena, and Rude and Cissnei were situated into homes of their own. The remaining five individuals were either still staying in the Inn, or in other homes around the village.

It is just past the mark of a month of their arrival that Cloud is woken by something that sets him on edge and full of regret. As he slowly begins to regain consciousness from what had previously been a deep dreamless sleep, a slight scent makes its presents known. The scent makes Cloud relax for a moment as he allows himself to appreciate how familiar it is. A scent that reminds him of the one person who defied everyone by attempting to become his friend. The scent of Tifa Lockhart.

His eyes snap open at this realization. For him to be able to smell Tifa, even though he knows that she lives nowhere near him can only mean one thing. Tifa Lockhart is having her first heat.

A small part of his heart breaks at that realization. The girl that he has had a crush on for years now is having her first heat. It may be a late first heat, but the first is always the strongest, the one that has the most effect on those around the one experiencing it. And despite that, despite the knowledge that as a normal male neko he should be responding, and searching for her, he has no desire to even move.

This is the final realization for Cloud that leaves him to believe, without a doubt, that he will never be able to have kittens in a conventional manner. That he truly is a Bearer.

Silent tears fall at this realization. Not tears for himself, or for Tifa. But tears of fear of what is to become of him. Of what will happen to him once he starts his own heat cycle.

Distracted by his thoughts, he hardly registers as the bed slowly dips on the other side. Blankets shift as someone crawls into bed with him. Two strong arms wrap around him, pulling him closer to the person behind him.

Cloud stiffens, but relaxes a bit as the familiar scent of Zack makes its presence known along with Tifa's. He feels the arms tense around him, holding him slightly tighter than comfortable. Cloud forces himself to roll over and question Zack about his strange behavior. However, his words are stopped before they even leave his mouth.

Zack's eyes are shut tight; his breathing is heavy and irregular. A slight sheen of sweat is starting to form on his brow with his efforts to remain calm.

This, Cloud realizes, is the effect that Tifa's heat is having on Zack. What it would be like for Cloud if he were not a Bearer.

Cloud manages to wiggle an arm free from Zack's hold and carefully reaches out to place it on Zack's cheek. A hand snaps up and stops his movements.

"Please don't." Cloud drops his hand. "Don't let me go. Don't let me answer the heat." Zack's eyes flutter open, physical pain shining through. "I don't want it." He pleads even further in his desperation. "Please. Just don't let leave."

Cloud wiggles around a bit more in Zack's hold. He manages to wrap his arms around Zack in return. "As long as you don't want to go, I won't let you."

The two stay that way throughout the duration of the night. Holding onto each other long after the scent of heat disappears.

…...

The following day, Cloud rises long before Zack. With much effort he manages to escape Zack's hold on him and prepares to head out to pick up daily supplies for the two of them. He gives Zack one last look before heading out the door, still wondering what made him allow Zack to stay with him during the night.

As he steps out into the streets, he catches snatches of shouting at the other end of the square and a large crowd of people are gathering.

As he gets closer he starts to understand more of what he is seeing and hearing. Mr. Lockhart is on one end of the crowd yelling at the redhead that was in the group from Midgar that Zack came with, his name is Reno.

Apparently, Reno was the one that made Tifa's heat stop the night before. The problem with the heat stopping is that the heat should last a day or two since it would be her first heat. Heat only ever stops prematurely when it has fulfilled its purpose. Its purpose being to ensure procreation. Thus making Reno Tifa's mate whether or not either of them want to be mates.

A bitter taste fills Cloud's mouth. He couldn't imagine having to become someone's mate simply because of one person going into heat and another answering that unspoken call.

He backs away from the group, his mind swimming with the possibilities of something like this happening to him. Feeling the need to be alone, he sneaks out of the village and up the mountain to his favorite vantage point.

Upon arriving at the one place that he truly ever called his own, Cloud simply let himself collapse in the snow. He closes his eyes, trying to shift through his thoughts without distraction.

Tifa, a girl he has had an unfruitful crush on for many years has had her first heat. That heat resulted in her becoming mated at the age of sixteen. An early age for a human, but a later than average age for a neko, well at least for having their first heat. Most nekos waited to find a mate, but some become mates early on.

The thought of still being so young and starting his heat cycle scares Cloud. He knows that females typically start their cycle around fourteen or fifteen, and that males typically start around fifteen or sixteen. He also remembers his mother telling him that his should probably start when he is seventeen or eighteen because of his 'uniqueness' as a Bearer.

Still, knowing that Tifa had her first heat makes him nervous. It isn't uncommon for other neko to start their heat because someone around them. Sort of like with human females who all have a tendency to PMS at the same time. He knows that if it started with Tifa, anything could happen in the next few days, and he shudders as to the thought of what might happen if more incidents like Reno's happen.

Cloud's mind worries and wanders over the same topics over and over again. Eventually the chaos of his own thoughts eases him off to sleep as the winter snow begins to fall once more.

...

The first thing that Cloud registers are the layers of blankets surrounding him. The second thing he registers is the intense heat that is surrounding him, making him feel like he is burning.

Shocked awake by the intense heat, Cloud struggles with the layers of blankets that are so tightly wrapped around him. His struggles result in him falling off of the couch he was not aware that he was lying on. His fall brings him closer to the roaring fire, increasing the heat surrounding him even more. He struggles seem to be in vain as the only thing that seems to happen is the increase of heat due to his struggles.

Footsteps sound as someone approaches from across the room. A hand shakes him, and an anxious voice calls for his attention.

"Cloud. Spike, can you hear me?"

A muffled reply sounds from within the mass of blankets. Hands move quickly to unwrap blankets just enough so that Cloud's head can be seen.

"What'd you say Spike?"

Cloud looks directly at Zack, fire in his eyes. "Get off my tail."

Zack looks down at his feet and notices a rather large fluffy appendage underneath them. Quickly he leaps back and Cloud manages to knock him off of his feet with one swipe of his tail.

Once Zack has been knocked over, Cloud struggles once again to get out of the raging inferno that seems to surround him. Eventually he manages to free one arm, and the other is quick to follow. With both of his arms free, and Zack still trying to regain his footing without stepping on Cloud, Cloud makes a quick dash outside into the cold night air.

The moment he opens the door, a wave of sweet frozen air covers him, instantly freezing the sweat built up from his struggles to escape the heat. He runs a hand through his hair as he savors the feeling of the cold air. He makes his way fully outside, shutting the door securely behind him. Quickly and carefully he makes his way up onto the roof of his home. The snow crunches welcomingly under his feet and the breeze wraps around him, showering him with small specks of ice and snow.

He simply stands on the roof in his simple everyday clothing and bare feet, basking in the welcome coolness. He closes his eyes in relief when a voice brings him back to reality.

"Cloud, you fell asleep in the snow. Made me think that you were freezing to death. Manage to fall off of your own couch, only to run back outside. You were too warm once I brought you back here, and I don't want to risk you getting sick because you wanted to go play in the snow. Now, get back down here and into bed before I have to come up here and drag you down." Zack's stern voice fills the night air. Its hint of pleading working guilt into Cloud.

Slowly, and annoyed that his time outside is cut short, Cloud makes his way off of the roof and down to Zack. "I'm fine. There's nothing to worry about."

Zack scoffs. "I'm your friend. It's my job to worry." He grabs Cloud's arm and starts steering him towards the door. "Now as my friend you should humor me right now and do as I say." Cloud gives him a skeptical look. "Come on, humor me and go to bed. If you're fine in the morning, I'll admit that you were right. But if you manage to catch a cold, I swear to you Spiky that I'll make sure you never pull anything like that again."

Cloud stares at him for a moment, curious to see if he is serious or not. When Zack steers him back into the house and in to the bedroom, he figures that he is. He simply rolls his eyes and makes a point of making Zack watch him pull back the covers and climbing into bed.

Once he is under the blankets, Zack gives him a small smile. "See, that wasn't that hard was it." Cloud simply rolls his eyes again and turns his back to Zack.

….

Cloud wakes the following morning feeling even hotter than the day before. He pulls back the blankets on the bed, hoping for some relief. Even the cool air of the room fails to dim the flames of heat even just a little. Cloud tries to stand to open a window, but feels so dizzy that he only manages to make it a few steps before collapsing.

The sound of his fall disrupts Zack and brings him running into the room. Finding him on the floor, Zack rushes over and finding his friend conscious, but burning up, Zack carefully picks him up and places him back on the bed. "Geez Spike, I told you this would happen." He grabs a bowl from inside the kitchen and brings it back filled with snow. He wraps some of that snow in a cloth and returns back to Cloud. He carefully places the cloth on Cloud's brow, hoping that it might help ease his fever.

When he turns to leave to try to get a glass of water for Cloud, he finds his wrist being held by Cloud. "Please don't. Don't leave."

Zack tries to smile, but his worry for his friend is evident. "It'll be ok, I'm just going to get you some water. Ok? I'll be right back." He tries to pull away, but Cloud's grip remains.

Sighing, he turns back to the bed and sits next to Cloud. "Ok, I won't go anywhere for now. Just try to get some sleep. I won't leave."

Within minutes Cloud has drifted off, and Zack finds himself growing weary with sleep as well. He struggles to stay wake so that he can monitor Cloud, but soon the heat radiating off of his friend eases him to sleep.

When Cloud wakes, the heat seems to be even more intense than before. At this point he wishes for nothing more than for it to end. Groaning with the effort it takes to simply roll over, he fails to notice Zack sleeping right next to him, and ends up rolling into the older neko's chest. Cloud pauses, hoping to not have woken his friend, and finding him still asleep, Cloud goes to edge away, but the feeling of where he is touching Zack makes him stop. In those few places the heat seems to be eased, replaced by some other sensation that Cloud has no name for.

All he knows is that the feeling is helping to ease the heat, and that is all he wants.

He edges closer to his friend, trying to come into contact with him as much as possible. All thoughts of waking him, or the repercussions of his actions flee from his mind. All that matters is touching as much of Zack as possible.

He wraps his arms around the older neko, bringing himself closer so that he head is resting against Zack's chest. The sound of Zack's heartbeat thunders into Cloud's sensitive ears, brining another dimension to the new sensations he is receiving from simply touching Zack.

He doesn't notices that his movements and touches have woken Zack.

Zack tries to push Cloud away from him, worried that Cloud is starting to become delusional from his sickness but one look into the dilated, blue-green eyes tells him all he needs to know.

Cloud has prematurely entered his heat.

Zack knows that the smartest thing that he should do right then is to get away from Cloud, and as far from him as possible. To get out of the range of the heat before he does something that he'll regret later. But something stops him. Something encourages him to lean into Cloud's touches and return them.

His mental struggle vanishes as Cloud begins to rub his head against his chest. Zack pulls away from Cloud before leaning in and rubbing his head against Cloud's.

Lust begins to fill his vision as he lets Cloud's heat tell him what to do. Rubs turn into soft kisses and caresses. Kisses turn into soft nips, and caresses turn into building desire.

Zack lets his hands wander up and down Cloud's sides, delighting in the shudders of the younger neko. He quickly pulls off the unwanted shirt and lets the feeling of burning skin soak into his hands and into his memory. He bends to capture Cloud's lips once again in a searing kiss as he begins to pull at the pants of the neko below him.

Hands reach up and try to pull off his shirt, and after abandoning his work on Cloud's pants, his own shirt is sent flying across the room. Hands then find their way to his pants, and they too are quickly discarded.

With nothing to now distract him, Zack quickly frees Cloud of his pants, and the two of them relish the feeling as the rubs continue and skin meets skin.

Subconsciously knowing what he needs to do, Zack lets one hand trail around the contours of Cloud as he carefully coats the fingers of his other hand with salvia. Once he satisfied that they are thoroughly coated, he removes them from his mouth and lets them trail down and caress Cloud's entrance.

Cloud feels a strange sensation as Zack's hand moves around his entrance. Not an unpleasant one, but an odd one. When he feels a finger slip in, he tenses as the slight pain, and the unfamiliar feeling.

Zack leans down and recaptures his mouth as the finger begins to move. A second soon joins the first, the pain rising ever so slightly, but not enough to make him want to stop Zack. When a third finger joins the other two, a small gasp of pain escapes and Zack halts his movements.

A look of guilt passes over his face as Cloud reaches up to bring Zack back to him. Encouraged by Cloud's movements, he continues trying to stretch the neko below him.

All at once the fingers leave, making Cloud feel suddenly empty. The feeling is fleeting as something much larger than the fingers is suddenly thrust into him. A sharp yelp of pain escapes as he struggles to adjust to Zack inside him. Zack begins to give small fleeting kisses along Cloud's neck to distract him from the pain as he begins to move.

After a few minutes, Cloud suddenly arches off the bed as white pleasure fills him. Seeing the reaction, Zack tries to aim for the same spot, hoping to see that look of pure bliss on Cloud's face.

It only take a few more hits to that pleasure spot before Cloud is sent over the edge, his release coating his and Zack's chests as Zack continues to thrust into him.

Feeling Cloud clench around him sends Zack over the edge as well, filling Cloud with his essence. As waves of pleasure flow through him, he collapses next to Cloud. He turns to see that Cloud is still lost in his own pleasure, so he takes the opportunity to bite Cloud's right ear roughly, marking him as Zack's.

Cloud jerks a bit at the feeling of being bit, but does not try to pull away. Instead, he rolls over and after looking at Zack with pleasure filled eyes; he bites the older neko on the right ear in return.

Zack winces a bit with the pain, but as the pleasure of their actions has yet to fade, he does not feel it too much.

The two of them give each other a small smile of contentment before their actions catch up to them, encouraging them to fall quickly into sleep.

….

A loud knocking at the door wakes Zack from his blissful slumber. Seeing that Cloud is still asleep, he silently looks across the room to where his pants were thrown the night before. He silently pulls them on and grabs a blanket to wrap around himself as he goes to answer the door.

The knocking escalates into pounding as Zack reaches the door, pulling it open before the knocking disturbs Cloud. The moment that the door is opened, another hand grabs the door and throws it completely open. Before Zack can respond, he is pulled from the house and two sets of arms grab his own and force him into a kneeling position in the snow.

He manages to look up in time to see a very furious Mr. Lockhart storm into the house, obviously looking for something. Moments later he emerges dragging Cloud behind him before throwing Cloud out the door and into the snow beside Zack.

Zack struggles and briefly pulls away from his captors in order to throw his blanket over Cloud, who was not fortunate enough to have any sort of covering.

Mr. Lockhart looks down on them, rage in his eyes. He points an accusatory finger at Zack. "You. You have brought destruction to this village. You have stolen our one chance to finally have peace in this village."

Zack locks eyes with him. "I don't know what you're talking about. I have done nothing to harm this village or any of its' occupants since I arrived here. What makes you brings such accusations against me?"

"You, you have mated with him!" He moves his finger to point at Cloud. "And not just that, you forced his heat to stop. You know what that means, don't you?!"

Cloud and Zack look at each other. Zack looks shocked, while Cloud shakes with fear.

Mr. Lockhart continues. "You have doomed us all."


	4. Enter Sephiroth

Chapter 3

A few hours after being confronted by Mr. Lockhart, Cloud found himself staring at the fire, hoping that he could just wake up and find that all of this was just a dream. He knows what his own actions lead to on a personal level, but he couldn't understand how that could be so bad for the village. Unless there is something that they are hiding from him. It wouldn't be the first time if that were true.

His eyes waver from the fire as Zack reenters the room. The black haired neko has been nervously pacing the length of the small house ever since they were allowed back inside. Every once in a while he stops and runs a hand nervously through his hair, but within moments he is back to his pacing.

This time, as he walks past, Cloud gently grabs his hand, and pulls him around to the other side of the couch. He urges Zack to take a seat, and once making sure that his mate has done so, Cloud leans over rests his head on Zack's side, deeply inhaling his scent.

Zack stiffens at his motion, not quite sure how to respond. "Cloud?" A low sigh is his only response. "Cloud, are you ok? I mean I know that this is all my fault, and I never should have let myself be lost in my instincts. But that is my own fault; I'm worried about you. I know that his wasn't your choice, and I'm not the one that you wanted to be mated to –"

"Zack, stop." Zack looks at Cloud in surprise. "It is not your fault. I took the initiative and followed through with it. I should be the one apologizing to you."

"Cloud no, listen to me. You didn't know what was going on. I'm the one that took advantage of you. You should have had the right to choose who you became mates with." He hangs is head in shame.

Cloud reaches a hand up and gently pushes Zack's head so that he can look him in the eyes. "Zack I made my choice. I didn't want something like what happened to Tifa to happen to me. So I chose Zack. When I figured out what was happening, I could have stopped you but I didn't. I didn't Zack, because I chose you. I wanted to become you're mate."

Zack's mouth hangs open with an unvoiced thought as Cloud's words sink in. He had wanted to be Zack's mate. Even though they've hardly known each other more than a month, he still chose Zack over every other potential mate. And now, they would soon be able to hold the fruits of their labors. A thought that stumps Zack for a moment.

"Cloud, you know what this means, don't you?" Cloud cocks his head in question. "Mr. Lockhart said that I 'forced the heat to stop.' I guess that means that we have a litter on the way. I don't know about you, but I defiantly don't think that I'm ready to be a parent. I mean look at us, neither of us is ready. You're only 15 and now you have to carry who knows how large of a litter for how knows how long. And I'm barely over 17, I hadn't even thought about starting a family until I was a lot older." He gives Cloud a helpless look. "What are we going to do?"

Cloud looks away. His are eyes downcast as he considers this. "We'll do whatever we need to. This wasn't supposed to happen, not now at least, but we can work with it."

Zack frowns a bit at these words. "What do you mean that this wasn't supposed to happen yet?"

Cloud turns away, making to stand. "It's nothing."

This time Zack grabs Cloud's hand. "It doesn't sound like nothing. If something is off you need to tell me." He sees Cloud slump, as though being scolded. "I just want to be able to help you, and I can't do that if you don't tell me what's going on."

Cloud turns back to Zack, still avoiding his eyes. "This wasn't supposed to happen. The heat. It wasn't supposed to come for at least two more years. At least, not for me."

Zack's eyes widen in shock. "Cloud! This is important, you should have told me sooner. What if something goes wrong because of this? I don't want to lose you because of something like this."

Now Cloud's eyes widen at what Zack says. "We'll worry about that if it happens. But for now, let's just worry about the here and now. Not about the future. We'll worry about that when it comes."

Zack pulls Cloud back to him. Planting a quick kiss amidst the multitude of spikes on his head. "Yeah, but we don't have too much time to relax before it's time to worry. After all, nine months will pass faster than we think.

"Twelve." Zack looks at Cloud confused. "Twelve months. That's how long we have before the litter comes." Seeing that Zack is still confused Cloud continues. "Just because I can have kittens does not mean that I'm a like a female Zack. I guess things just work a bit differently for people like me, or at least that's what I've been told."

Zack chuckles and brings Cloud even closer. "Twelve months it is then. That just gives us more time to prepare and have as much fun as we can before we worry about little ankle biters everywhere."

Cloud looks up at Zack, his eyes wide with questions. "And just what exactly do you mean when you say 'fun'?"

Zack just grins before leaning down to kiss him again.

…...

The week that follows flies by quickly for Zack and Cloud. The only times that it seems to slow down, is when one or both of them need to pick up supplies from town. There they are greeted with glares and whispers. People go out of their way to avoid the two of them as much as possible, even more so than usual.

It is one of those days when both Zack and Cloud set off into the village together to buy the supplies they need, and to try and figure out just what they will need once the litter finally comes. They know that they have some time, but they would rather be prepared ahead of time in case anything were to go wrong.

As they pay for that days groceries, everything sees to stop as four figures cross a ridge near the edge of the village. Still too far away to see clearly, they still prove to be an impressive sight. Even from here, the villagers can see their long coats blowing in the wind, and the impressive height that these figures must hold.

Almost as though pulled by an invisible string. The villagers start to abandon their daily jobs and make their way into the village's square. Watching as the figures descend the mountain and make their way ever closer to the village.

As the figures draw closer, a weight seems to settle in Cloud's stomach, making him nervous and anxious. As Zack holds his hand as they make their way to join the others in the square, Cloud's first instinct is to refuse to move, but knowing that Zack will be there with him makes him feel more secure, so he lets his mate lead him into the semi-circle of villagers.

Within a few minutes, the figures enter the village and Cloud feels his blood run cold. Though the four figures are hooded, and their faces are unknown, Cloud knows exactly who they are. Their long white and black spotted tails are a dead giveaway.

These four are some of the fabled snow leopards that live in the mountains surrounding Nibelheim.

Even though Cloud has never seen another one of his own kind, a deep-seated fear keeps him from wandering too close to them. He makes sure that his own hood is up, hiding his ears, as well as any indications of who and what he is. He wraps his tail around his waist, hiding it too from sight.

As the four stop in the center of the square, Cloud notices something significant about how they stand. Three of them stand respectfully behind the tallest figure, the one whom is obviously the leader, and probably the most dominant in the group.

The tallest of these figures pulls back his hood revealing himself to the gathered crowed. His long silver hair is immediately caught in the wind and whirls around him, giving him a more ethereal look. Bright green eyes scan the crowed, as if searching for something, or someone in particular. His white and black spotted ears swivel around, trying to catch any sounds that may offer him any help in his search.

As he scans the crowd, Cloud tries to resist the urge to duck down, or even run from the gaze of this person. As the figure scans his section of the crowd, Cloud feels the figure's eyes on him, and while he refuses to lift his eyes to meet that gaze, he knows that he has been singled out with that gaze.

Abruptly he feels the gaze leave him and he risks a quick look up, just in time to see the figure begin to speak.

"I am Sephiroth. Apparently this village has something that belongs to me, and I would like it back now." He pauses, his surprisingly light and almost gently voice hanging in the air. He sees a few puzzled looks, so he continues, "It has come to my attention this past week that there is another snow leopard here, or at least there was. I am here to find that person and bring him home." He scans the crowd once more, waiting for a reply that seems to be lost. "If any of you know where I might find him, I would be most appreciative."

Fear expands rapidly inside of Cloud. This Sephiroth person has come here because of him. Somehow that man found out that he was here, and now he has come to take Zack away from him. He holds on tighter to Zack's hand, knowing that Zack will understand his fear about all of this.

When still no one replies to Sephiroth, his ears go back and a menacing edge finds its way into his voice. "Fine then. I know that he is here, or somewhere near here. After all, as you all should know, a Bearer in heat can't get to far on his own. And I assure you, that you know what I am talking about. After all, you should know that when a snow leopard neko goes into heat, just like their roar, their heat can be sensed from miles away. Hence why I am here today."

He makes sure that to meet the eyes of everyone he can in the crowed, and after seeing the contemplative, knowing looks he knows that his prize is near. "If you know anything, anything at all I urge you to come forward now. If not, I will find this Bearer one way or another, even if I have to tear apart this entire village to find him. Do I make myself clear?"

He resists letting a satisfied smile show when he sees the fear and suspicion fill the eyes of those watching him. And with this knowledge, he turns and leaves the village, the three others falling back into their original positions behind him.

….

As soon as Sephiroth is over the ridge and out of sight, it is as if a spell has been broken and the villagers return wordlessly to their previous activities. All except for two, that is.

Cloud pulls Zack back to their humble home and slams the door behind them. He runs throughout the home, making sure that every window and door is shut tight and all windows are covered so that no one can see in. He turns back to Zack, fear in his eyes.

Seeing this, Zack does the only thing he thinks he can do right now. He walks over to his mate and slips his arms around him, holding him close. They stand like that for what to them seems like mere minutes, but in reality it is actually a few hours of fearful silence.

A knocking at their door interrupts their embrace, and Zack motions for Cloud to stand back as he opens the door. A small brown haired neko dashes in, quickly shutting the door behind her. She looks between Zack and Cloud, fear and regret evident in her own expression.

Aerith walks over to Cloud and gives him a small hug. She leans in close and whispers in his ear, "Never forget who you are or the ones you love." She retreats from him, giving him a sad smile before walking over to Zack. There she repeats the process, only this time she whispers, "Be strong, your story is not yet over yet."

Turning to see both of the male nekos looking at her with mixed looks of concern and confusion, she blows them a quick kiss before quickly making her exit out the door.

Before the two can hardly react to her abrupt arrival and departure, the door opens one more time, only this time a less popular figure enters. Mr. Lockhart turn and looks at them, fear and desperation obviously controlling him. He does not make a move, but simply stares at them for a good minute.

Eventually he seems to find his words. "You must leave. Both of you. Now." Perspiration begins to gather on his forehead. "I want both of you out of this village right now. You have brought this upon us, and now it is up to you to rid us of it. And the only way that is going to happen, is if you leave right now."

Zack takes a step forward, inadvertently causing Mr. Lockhart to take a step back. "If you want us to leave, then fine, we'll leave. All we ask is that you give us until morning to pack our belongings and gather enough supplies for this trip."

Mr. Lockhart looks quickly between Zack, Cloud and the door. Desperation taking an even stronger hold. "Fine, fine. Whatever you want. Just be out of here by dawn or I'll throw you out and to those beasts myself."

He turns away without another thought, running from the house as if being there will condemn him to the wrath of Sephiroth.

Once he has left, Zack calmly turns back to Cloud. "Looks like we'd better get packing before old stick in the ass comes back." He heads towards their room, and starts digging for bags for clothing and food, knowing that they will have to leave most things behind.

Cloud walks into the room in a daze. "But Zack, where will we go? The nearest village to here is over two days away. Do you honestly think that we can make it that far before they find us?"

Zack stops his packing before walking over to Cloud and gently taking his face in his hands. "We'll be fine. As long as we leave early enough, there should be enough snow by midmorning to cover most of our tracks. Besides, I know exactly where we are going to go." A small ray of hope shines from Cloud at those words. "You see before I left Midgar, I had a mentor there named Angeal. He left a while ago looking for an old friend of his. Now I've only heard from him once, right before I left, and he told me where I could find him if I ever needed him. Well it looks like now is the time to go find him. And it shouldn't take us too long to get there."

He sees the hope starting to fade a little. "Don't worry Cloud, we'll make it. Angeal is a good friend of mine. He'll make sure that we find somewhere safe to stay."

Cloud looks up at him, his bright blue eyes shining once again with a tinge of fear. "But what about Sephiroth. What will we do if he comes after us?"

Zack sighs and ruffles Clouds hair for a moment. "Don't worry too much about him. If he does manage to find us, just remember that I used to be a SOILDER before. I think I know how to handle a guy like him."


	5. Battle

Chapter 4

Cloud lay awake that night. Despite the events of the day, and how exhausted he felt, sleep did not come to him. And if the constant tossing and turning on the other side of the bed is any indication, it has not found Zack either.

Cloud stares out into the dark room, taking in more details than the average human could ever hope to in the dim lighting. His eyes trace every little detail, knowing that this is the last time that he will ever see it like this, and wanting to remember every little thing that he can.

His memorization is interrupted as Zack suddenly ceases his tossing and turning and sits upright on the bed. Cloud rolls over and reaches out a hand and places it on Zack's tense arm. At first there is no reaction, but eventually his hand is covered by Zack's.

"Do you think that we're doing the right thing? That leaving will really solve anything, or will it just drag out the inevitable?" Zack's voice is nearly inaudible as he voices his forming fears.

Cloud thinks for a minute before sighing. "I'm not sure. We know what will happen if we stay, so I guess leaving is our best option right now."

Zack turns back to look at Cloud. Seeing his mate lying there with his bright blue eyes practically glowing in the dim light makes his heart ache just a bit. He sees the innocence there, as well as the fear that Cloud has obviously been trying to hide.

Cloud watches as a multitude of emotions suddenly rush across Zack's face. Some good, some not quite as good, but definitely not bad. Mesmerized by the display, it takes him a moment to notice when Zack pulls away from his hand as he stands and strides out of the room.

Confused by his actions, Cloud makes to get up and follow him, but before he can do much past sitting up, Zack walks back into the room, his hands behind his back.

He walks up to Cloud, and kneels on the floor before him. "I know this isn't exactly the way it's supposed to go, but I want to do this right, even if it's a bit late now." He pulls his hands forward, a small box balanced on his palms. He carefully flips the box open revealing a small earing inside. The earing is in the shape of a wolf's head with a ring in its mouth. No detail is spared in the craftsmanship, the wolf almost looks alive, its fur ready to shift in the wind.

Cloud stares at it for a moment longer before looking up from it to Zack. His voice is so low; that he almost does not hear his own words "I don't understand."

A small smile spreads across Zack's features. "I know it's not exactly as traditional as a ring, but you don't exactly come off as a ring type of guy." He still sees a small crease of confusion in Cloud's expression. "I know it's more traditional to ask for permission and offer a ring before becoming mates, but I kind of figured that it's a bit late for that." He looks once again at Cloud and his expression sinks. "You hate it don't you."

"Zack, I . . ." Cloud lunges forward and wraps his arms around his mate. "You are all I need for as long as you stay. Nothing else matters to me."

Zack releases a small sigh of relief. "So you don't hate it then?"

Cloud whispers softly in his ear. "How could I hate something given to me by my mate when he has no intentions to leave?"

Zack chuckles. "If this is your reaction, I should give you stuff more often." He lets Cloud stay in his position for a moment longer before gently pulling him back so that he can face him. "Would you give me the honor of being able to finish giving you my gift?"

A small smile creeps onto Cloud. "What's stopping you?"

….

Light filtering through the curtains wakes Cloud the following morning. His eyes flutter open as the sun sheds light into the small room. He groans with the rude awakening, but at the same time, he wakes rather quickly, knowing that he and Zack need to leave as soon as they can.

He makes to stand and find his mate, but a throbbing in his head from the new piecing and a sore behind from the previous night's activities force him to not rush as much as he would like. He takes the needed time to gather the few things left out from the night before and ventures into the main living area of the small house, hoping to find his mate nearly ready to go.

When he enters the room the small pack he had in his hand drops to the floor. Supplies that they had readied the night before are scattered about the room, furniture is moved as though someone was forced into it and the fire is dead in its hearth. But the most disturbing sight is the empty spot where Zack has always left his oversized Buster Sword. That more than anything alerts Cloud.

He leaves his pack where it lay; he forgoes a coat and rushes out of the cabin and into the village square where a crowd is starting to gather once more. Cloud stops dead in his tracks at the sight before him, fear beginning to fill his heart.

In the center of the ring of villagers, Zack is being held by two of the hooded nekos from the day before while Sephiroth has a tight hold on his chin, obviously trying to get information out of him.

Fear for his mate threatens to spill over as Cloud lets out a quiet, but desperate "Zack."

Despite the low level of his call, Sephiroth's attention immediately leaves Zack, and focuses on the area where Cloud is standing. The two that are holding Zack release their holds in favor of following the dominant neko.

Cloud begins to retreat, step by step as Sephiroth comes closer, scanning the gathered crowed for his prey. Eventually Cloud's luck runs out as he manages to slip on a patch of snow covered ice.

The sudden movement draws Sephiroth's attention directly to him. A grin spread across Sephiroth's face, declaring an early victory for himself.

He is forced to stop in his tracks as the extremely sharpened edge of a Buster Sword is held inches from his bare throat. "Leave this village. Now." Sephiroth's line of vision switches from that of Cloud still in the snow, too shocked to move, to the two handed grip on the Buster Sword, and eventually up to the wielder of the sword themself.

Seeing the fire in the eyes of the young neko before him, Sephiroth is immediately able to make the connection between the two. Surprise and anger fill his cat like eyes.

In a flash Zack is forced back as a slim yet sturdy blade goes up against his. "I'll give you one chance kitten to back off now and let me take what I want in peace. I will then leave your village alone. That is what you demanded of me isn't it?"

Fury rages as Zack strikes back, attempting to send Sephiroth sprawling, but only succeeding at pushing him back a few feet. "You'll leave this village the way it is with everyone in it. Do I make myself clear?"

Rage at this makes Sephiroth rush forward with a series of quick slashes. "All I want is what is rightfully mine. The rest can stay here. Wouldn't you say that's a bargain? One boy for the assured safety of an entire village. Not much at all really."

Zack pulls back for a moment, his eyes flickering to Cloud who is being held in place by one of Sephiroth's men. A pleading look fills those crystal blue eyes. Seeing this, Zack turns back to Sephiroth. "Over my dead body."

A wicked grin spreads as Sephiroth readies his next attack. "That can easily be arranged."

Cloud watches the battle before him with fear filled eyes. Hoping for Zack to find some way to win. He sees the two opponents readying their next strikes when Cloud sees all too clearly what is about to happen. Sephiroth is about to use a feint before moving at the last moment to exploit a weakness of the Buster Sword, effectively piercing Zack through the heart.

With a surge of adrenalin, Cloud is able to throw off the neko holding him down. He uses his resulting momentum to throw himself towards the two warriors, hoping to somehow manage to stop their movements. Seeing that neither of them is faltering in their movements, Cloud does the only thing he can think of at that moment. He leaps towards Zack.

The next thing he knows, his momentum has been stopped and he is holding Zack. The second thing he notices is the look of disbelief on Zack's face, a look that is also filled with pain. Just past that look, Cloud sees something that brings his heart to stop for a moment. The tip of Sephiroth's blade is coated in blood, the tip that is connected to the rest of the sword that is currently run through them both.

Suddenly his chest flares with pain as the sword is pulled out of both him and Zack. The two of them are too shocked to react and end up loosing their footing and falling to the snow covered ground.

Cloud forces himself to overcome the pain and pull himself closer to Zack, ignoring the now crimson snow underneath him. He pulls himself up to be able to look his mate in the eye, only to be shocked and saddened by what he sees there.

"Well I always thought that we'd go places together, I just never expected it to go quite like this." He coughs; blood tints the corners of his mouth.

"Zack?" Worry evident in Cloud's voice. "It'll be alright won't it?"

Zack uses the last of his strength to pull Cloud down into a rough hug. "It takes more then a wound like this to do the great Zack in. Just give me a few days and I'll be just fine."

Cloud's mouth opens to speak, but he is suddenly ripped from Zack's arms. A coat is wrapped firmly around his own wounds, attempting to halt their bleeding. A pair of arms wraps around his torso, pulling him further away from his mate.

Cloud struggles to get away, but a set of much stronger hands grabs him and starts to pull him away. Cloud's continuing struggles earns him a brief moment of freedom before a dull pain in the back of his neck blossoms.

His vision suddenly becomes foggy, and his movements halt of their own will. He can feel himself slumping towards the snow, but that strong set of arms pulls catches him and pulls him up.

His vision disappears for a moment only to return. He sees two figures running towards where Zack lies in the blood soaked snow. One of them he can clearly see is Aerith, and the other is heavily hooded, marking him as Zack's old friend Kunsel. The two busy themselves about their fallen friend.

Suddenly Aerith looks up at him, sorrow and pain conveyed in her eyes. He tries to respond back his own fear and desperation, but whoever is carrying him suddenly shifts his position so that she is blocked from his vision.

As his vision begins to blur once more, Cloud tries to shift out of his current position, but only serves to encourage his carrier to shift him once again. Finding himself now being carried bridal style; Cloud tries to lift his head enough to look back towards Aerith. Only he finds his vision blocked, and instead two bright green cat like eyes stare back at him.

Trying to shift his gaze past those eyes, Cloud finds himself falling into the encroaching darkness of unconsciousness.


	6. Losing the Past

Chapter 5

The first thing that Cloud becomes aware of is a comforting warmth. A warmth, that is far greater and widespread than anything he can remember feeling in his youth. A small sigh of contentment is released, and the knowledge that it is he who released that sound helps Cloud to slowly regain consciousness.

Outside of the warmth, the next thing that he registers is that he is surrounded by something incredibly soft. It covers him almost completely, helping to keep even more of that delicious warmth to himself. There is an unevenness to the soft covering, almost as if whatever is covering him is made up of many smaller things instead of one large one, but it is still not enough to disrupt the warmth.

He manages to crack his eyes open, expecting to see something, anything familiar that might give him an indication as to where he is. However, nothing is familiar.

His eyes wander over the multitude of dark colored pelts that make up most of what he assumes is the floor of the structure, all surrounding a roaring fire that is carefully controlled and maintained in the center or the structure. He notices that his is laying in a slightly raised area, and that the blanket of pelts covering him are all much lighter in color, all skillfully sewn together into a large blanket.

His eyes are drawn to the unique shape of the walls, proving that the shape of the structure is fairly circular and that they meet carefully at the top, most likely to help keep snow off of the outside. The walls themselves seem to be made of some sort wood that is covered with layers of fabric to help weatherproof the building.

Across from where he lays, he can see a single solid wood door. Figuring that this is most likely the way out, Cloud makes to get ready to stand and go to it, hoping that maybe viewing the outside will give him a better idea of where he is.

He pulls back the blanket that has been covering him, only to stop as cold air rushes to meet his uncovered body. His eyes widen in alarm at the sight of his body, having no idea of how any of this came to pass. Currently deciding to ignore the state of his own nakedness, he focuses his attention on the bandages wrapped carefully and firmly around his torso, and more importantly, his heart.

Seeing a small amount of dried blood that had soaked through the material sends Cloud's heart racing. He scrambles to find a way to unwind the bandage, and see the true extent of the damage for himself. Eventually, he manages to find a tied end, and fumbling with the knot at the end, he manages to unwind all of the wrappings, and after carefully removing an extra layer of absorbent padding, finally sees the extent of the damage.

A small row of tight stitches rests just below his heart, directly over where his mark is. Trembling fingers carefully trace where his mark, his sign that he had entered his heat cycles, his mark of adulthood, has been tarnished. His movements cause him to pause as he feels a slight pulling on his back. Carefully, he maneuvers a hand over to the area of pain, only to discover another line of stitches.

Images flash before his eyes. Zack battling Sephiroth. Zack's look of surprise when Sephiroth's sword is pulled from both of them. The sight of their blood staining the once white snow a bright crimson. Being dragged away from his wounded mate.

Phantom pains begin to return, causing his breaths to become short and labored. He moves his hands away from the rows of stiches, trying to stop the mental and physical pain that the memories bring.

He left his mate gravely wounded, and did nothing to stop it from happening. His mark has been stolen from him, and he did nothing to stop it. There must have been something that he could have done to prevent this, anything at all to stop those events from unfolding.

In his frantic grieving state of mind, he does not hear the door of the building open, nor does he feel the rush of cold air that suddenly fills the room with its chill and a few stray snowflakes. However, he freezes when he feels the blankets sink behind him, and two strong arms wrap themselves around him.

"It's so good to see you awake. I was starting to wonder if you weren't going to recover." A moment of silence as long silver hair covers Cloud's sides, effectively blocking his view, but bringing chills to his already frantic fear. "Why did you undo your bandages? Hmm? Let me go find some new ones, the last thing you need is to get an infection from those wounds." The silver leaves, allowing Cloud a moment to regain himself.

He sees an opportunity while Sephiroth's back is turned. He carefully moves the blankets out of the way, hoping to not make too much noise and alert his captor to his intentions. He gives the lager neko another wary glance before he attempts to make a dash for the door, and hopefully for freedom.

His adrenalin only works so well, but his sudden movements pull at his stitches and his chest aches causing him to completely loose his breath for a moment, before the pain sends him sprawling back towards the ground.

A pair of arms catches him just before he hits the ground. They remain still as he struggles to regain his breath, before pulling him back towards the blankets. He tries to struggle, but his inability to draw in adequate breath makes his attempts fairly feeble.

A hand grabs both of his in the one and holds them above his head, making him try to struggle even more. A frustrated growl sounds above him before his legs are suddenly pinned as Sephiroth kneels on them, effectively holding them still. Using his one free hand, Sephiroth then takes his time covering Cloud's wounds once more.

As soon as the final knot is tied, he releases Cloud's hands but remains kneeling on his legs. A hand starts to softly trace his jaw line. "What a mystery you are. Never before have I heard of one of our kind being a Bearer, but there is always time for a first. And what a beauty you are."

Cloud makes to try to push the offending hand away, but his hand is caught and Sephiroth leans forward so that is mouth is next to Cloud's ear. "Now, now. There will be none of that here."

Sephiroth tenses for a moment, a strange sent stinging his nose. He shakes his head a bit trying to clear his senses, but when he returns to his previous position, the scent assaults him again.

He retreats once more, taking a moment to understand why such a scent would be emanating from the Bearer below him. Suddenly, his memory gives him a flash of a raven-haired neko bleeding out into the snow below. The dots are connected and a look of fury begins to form.

Suddenly Sephiroth rises off of Cloud, letting him try to move away before a fist connects with his stomach, forcing him roughly back to the ground. A hand pulls him up and forces him back into the wall. Once he is able to look up again, more blows begin raining down on his lower stomach.

Cloud tries to pull free, to block the blows, anything to avoid them, but no matter what he tires, nothing seems to work. More blows are brought down on him, and before long he can no longer feel anything besides the pain blossoming from his abdomen.

After what seems like hours, the blows stop. Though he is still held against the wall, Cloud no longer feels that he is able to support his own weight. Warily, he lifts his head to see why Sephiroth has stopped.

He tentatively looks up into those feline eyes, but the moment he makes contact with the fury held within them, a fist connects with his head, effectively knocking him into unconsciousness.

….

The feeling of an intense pain in his lower abdomen forces Cloud back into consciousness. Pain, and the feeling of something wet sliding out from between his legs forces him to focus on himself before anything.

He tries to sit up, but a hand is placed on his chest, gently forcing him back down. Slowly and hesitantly he raises his eyes only to find Sephiroth kneeling next to him with an array of bowls of what appears to be steaming water and dry cloths next to them.

A cloth is dipped in the steaming water and placed on his forehead, causing him to close his eyes in reflex. However, they open once again as he feels the thin blanket that he did not even realize was covering him, is removed. A wet towel lightly rubs over his badly bruised stomach, causing pain to shoot up with each touch.

After a particularly sharp shoot of pain, Cloud releases a slight moan of pain, indirectly drawing the attention of Sephiroth once again. "Shh, it's ok, it's ok. It's just a little warm water." The towel begins to move again, only now it starts to move lower, were the pain is the greatest. "I didn't want to have to do that, but I had no other choice." Silence fills the room for a moment as questions beg to be asked from Cloud. "Whether or not you were aware of it, you were carrying the unwanted spawn of that half breed. If it hadn't been for the hormones all Bearers and females release to warn others of our kind that they are with cub, than those wretched things would have continued to grow."

He looks up at Cloud, sorrow in his eyes. "I only did what I had to. Now, when you are healed, you will carry my cubs, purebloods that will help to rebuild our kind to its former glory."

Cloud looks away from him, tears threatening to spill over at the thought of having been forced to abort Zack's litter. He closes his eyes for a moment before whispering. "They weren't some spawn, they were his. His litter that you destroyed. They weren't unwanted, I wanted them."

A hand suddenly grabs his hand, forcing him to look Sephiroth in the eye. "They were nothing, and never would be. Their sire is dead so there would have been nothing in this world for them once you officially become mine. I did them a favor."

Cloud's eyes harden, locking Sephiroth's in place. "Murderer."

Sephiroth's eyes narrow, pushing Cloud's head back to the floor with force. "Say what you will of me. It does not change what has happened. And soon, you will be mine. Whether or not you choose to accept that or not is your decision." His eyes soften as he gives Cloud another look. "Why make yourself suffer over the past when you can just accept the inevitable and move on?"

He turns and leaves into the cold night beyond, leaving Cloud lying on the floor in his own blood, having to come to terms of everything that he was just told.

….

Over the next few weeks, Cloud is able to fully recover from both his stab wounds, as well as from his forced abortion. However, one thing that changes is how much Sephiroth keeps an eye on him. Initially it was fairly minimal, almost like an allotted time to allow for grieving and acceptance. However, at the end of that time, he is present for the majority of the time, trying to get close to Cloud physically, as though just waiting for the moment that Cloud's heat will start once again.

And once it finally does, there is no rest for the younger neko, as for the duration of each and every heat cycle Sephiroth is there trying to force him into bearing his cubs. Each and every time these attempts have failed, leaving Sephiroth furious and frustrated, while Cloud simply counts his blessings as each cycle that spans at least once every two weeks passes without interruption.

However, after the mark of three months since the death of his mate, and a month after Cloud finally turns 16, his heat comes once again. This time, Cloud can tell that something is bothering Sephiroth as he tears into the Bearer, giving no reprieve or mercy in his actions. By the end of the heat, Sephiroth simply leaves as though still unsatisfied and distracted by other matters. Cloud simply lies there, covered in his own unwilling cum and blood from the force Sephiroth was using on him. However, there is one thing that bothers him, his heat seems to usually last two full days, but it stopped just now after one and a half days.

Not a month later after this discovery, Cloud wakes with a very pleased looking Sephiroth lying beside him. Sephiroth leans over and plants a delicate kiss amongst Cloud's many spikes. "I knew it would happen eventually. You have pleased me greatly, Cloud." Cloud looks at him with questioning eyes. Sephiroth sees this and gives a small laugh. "You should be proud. You are now carrying the cubs of the Great Sephiroth."


	7. Mountain Air

Chapter 6

For the most part, nothing really changed for Cloud after Sephiroth confirmed that he is indeed carrying cubs. He is continually kept in the same building, never being allowed outside. All of his escape attempts are continually and abruptly brought to an end when he is dragged back to the same building over and over again.

One thing that puzzles Cloud, is the fact that he knows that this unusual small group moves from place to place rather frequently, but for some reason, Cloud is never aware of these moves except for when he wakes up to find things in a slightly different order than when he fell asleep. Or that the scenery is different when he does manage to make it outside of the building and make a break for it.

The one thing he does know, is that as time progresses, and the evidence of his pregnancy grows to be ever more present, his opportunities for escape are dwindling daily. As the months progress, and his stomach swells as the cubs grow, he knows that the risks of trying to leave will put not only himself in danger, but the cubs as well.

A part of him feels that he should simply reject these cubs that he is being forced to carry as soon as they are born, especially since their sire means nothing more to Cloud than the man who is his captor and refuses to let him leave. But at the same time, he knows that it is not the fault of the cubs for the sins of their sire. It was not they who killed his mate, nor the one that killed his first litter. These unborn cubs are innocent, no matter how easy it would be to pin at least part of the blame on them.

Today marks the beginning of the eighth month of Cloud's pregnancy. His stomach has swelled to the point where he knows that he will no longer be able to safely attempt to leave the small group. With excessive weariness and frequent false contractions, he knows that something is not right within him. And he knows that trying to leave now, no matter how much we wishes he could, would be a deadly move, for both him and the cubs.

Still, after being confined inside the same building for so long, Cloud cannot help but want to step outside, even if it is just for a short period of time. Just enough to get a breath of fresh air, and maybe try to get a sense of just where he is.

So, after watching Sephiroth leave earlier in the morning for some reason or another, Cloud takes care to wrap a thicker pelt over his shoulders before carefully opening the door, and sneaking out into the snowy world beyond.

Stepping out into the crunchy snow brings a sense of exhilaration to Cloud. Being able to hear the sound of the snow as he tries to make his footsteps as silent as possible, feeling the cold breeze wrap itself around him brings a new sense of being alive to him. Letting the sun fill his eyes and bring light to what normally seems like a dark world helps him to realize that there is so much more to the world than just what he has already seen.

With just a short walk, he is away from the small cluster of buildings that are carefully placed so as to best protect their inhabitants from the cruel weather. He comes to a small cluster of rocks sticking out of the snow, and after carefully cleaning the snow off of one of them, he takes a seat and turns his back on the small buildings that are still within sight. He looks out from his perch, and what he sees takes his breath away.

Mountains and clear blue skies as far as the eye can see fill his vision, taking any and all sense of words away with their beauty. Each peak can clearly be seen, almost as if it would take but a simple reach of the hand to touch them, that each blanket of snow covering their highest points is feathery soft and completely smooth to the touch.

And yet, when he draws his gaze downwards, Cloud is met with a close up view of the dizzying height that he now finds himself. A smooth and straight cliff ends abruptly not that far from where Cloud finds himself now. A quick look down reveals rivers of frozen ice waiting for any unfortunate victim that manages to slip down to their watery grave.

Forcing himself to remove his eyes from such a dangerous, and somewhat tempting sight, Cloud finds himself once again drawn to the range of snow-covered peaks before him. Watching the landscape of those far away places change with the movement of the sun is truly and enticing sight to see.

Suddenly Cloud is startled back to his own spot on one of the many mountains when a hand suddenly grasps his shoulder firmly. He turns abruptly to be met with a pair of nearly glowing red eyes. He startles, and jumps at the suddenly appearing person before him, and without meaning to, he ends up falling backwards off of his rock and into the fairly deep snow.

The light sound of laughter fills the air as the red eyes make their way into his view once again. This time, pure white hair cascades down from the person above him, framing a thin smooth face. Cloud blinks in surprise as he notices that the figure above him is very much female.

The woman laughs again when she notices his shock and realization. "Are you coming back up here anytime soon, or are you more content lying in the snow like that?"

Cloud scowls with her joking, and carefully manages to stand, wincing as a small ripple of pain goes through his abdomen. The woman notices his wince of pain and gets up off of her rock, and slowly walks over to him, trying not to frighten him. Once she is close enough, she places a hand on his swollen abdomen, and slowly begins to move it.

After a moment, a frown creases her brow. She removes her hand only to wordlessly grab hold of Cloud's hand and start dragging him back to the cluster of buildings.

Cloud resist though, pulling back his hand. "What are you doing?"

An exasperated looks crosses the woman's features. "You need to return to your home as soon as you can. All is not well with the cubs inside of you."

Now a frown crosses Cloud's brow. He knew as much, but he never thought that it could be serious, and yet this woman was able to tell with just a simple touch.

He is shaken from his thoughts when the woman takes his hand once again and heads back to the buildings once more. "We need to find your mate right away. Once we find him, you and he will head back to you respective home and I will be along as soon as I can. If we don't do something soon, you could loose those cubs." She gives Cloud another appraising look. "I don't think I've seen you around here. Tell me young one, who is your mate?"

Cloud stops once again, his eyes downcast and glaring at the snow. "I have no mate. He was killed nearly a year ago."

The woman is silent for a moment before she rolls her eyes. "I care not about a past dead mate, I mean who is your mate now?"

Cloud's glare turns to the woman in front of him. "As I said, I have no mate."

Seeing that she was not going to win this battle at the moment, the woman sighed and rubbed her head with her free hand. "Fine then, who is the sire of your cubs?"

Cloud's eyes drift to the ground once again. His voice seems to disappear as he quietly whispers out "Sephiroth."

The woman wants to demand that he say it again, that he have pride in being the mate of one of the most powerful nekos she has ever met, but knowing the condition of the boy before her, forces her to hold off on that lecture in favor of getting him back to where he belongs before his condition deteriorates anymore than it already has.

Once again Cloud feels his hand being pulled and his body begins to follow, but before he takes even just a few steps, his vision suddenly becomes blurry and a strong sense of dizziness overcomes him, forcing him to fall over once more. He can hear the woman calling for him to respond, but he can't find the energy to even respond in that moment.

Suddenly the sound of the woman's voice disappears as it is replaced by the sound of hurriedly retreating footsteps. Cloud revels in the peace of silence that fills the air as soon as the woman is gone, the quiet helps to ease his spinning head, and the cold is starting to numb the pain that is becoming more intense in his abdomen.

However, it does not take too long before the sound of footsteps returns once again, bringing with it all of the previous sounds and pain as before. He hears two voices calling his name, but still he can't find any means to respond, even if it is just to tell them to be quiet so that the soothing silence can return once more.

He feels a pair of arms carefully reach behind him and lift him into the air, causing the pelt he had wrapped around himself to fall back into the snow. He feels himself being momentarily shifted around before the person holding him begins to move.

The strong sent of leather, snow, and firewood fills his nose, alerting his pain-filled mind to know that the one holding him is Sephiroth, and despite how he would normally act, he knows that right now he is in no position to do anything to escape the man holding him. He allows himself to relax into Sephiroth's hold, not wanting to struggle and cause any more pain.

He closes his eyes, knowing despite the blurriness of his vision, exactly where Sephiroth is taking him. Soon, the welcome heat from the familiar building that Cloud has been trapped in for the last several months envelopes him, causing the pain to ease just a little. He feels himself being placed in the familiar bed of pelts and blankets, and they are quickly placed on top of him.

He hears Sephiroth and the woman back away from him and move closer to the door. They hold a brief, but quiet conversation that Cloud is unable to hear anything from, before the door to the building is opened once more, and one set of footsteps sound as they make their way through the snow.

The remaining person makes their way back over to him. He feels the pelts surrounding him move a bit as someone lies down beside him. An arm wraps itself around his chest, and he is gently pulled into he torso of the one behind him. Feeling the firmness that he has become all too familiar with, Cloud admits a moment of defeat by letting Sephiroth hold him like this, knowing that for now, all he can do is accept it, and try to ignore the growing pain.

In just a few minutes of being held by Sephiroth, Cloud can feel himself drifting off to sleep. Praying for an escape from everything that has happened during the day, Cloud readily gives in, letting the warm darkness envelope him.

….

Cloud is abruptly forced back to consciousness, when an extremely sharp pain shoots through his stomach, followed closely by another. He sits there for a moment, panting sharply from the pain. After a moment, he is able to open his eyes and see that Sephiroth is no where in the small building now, though there is evidence that he left not too long ago as the space beside Cloud is still warm.

Pain begins to wrack his small frame once more, forcing him to pay attention on it instead of the empty room. Sweat soon begins to gather on his brow as the pain continues, though varying in intensity; it still gives him no reprieve. Slowly, he feels that he is being torn apart from the inside as the pain begins to reach greater heights, forcing him to focus on remaining quiet, for fear of alerting anyone of his predicament.

After what seems like hours, the door to the building is thrown open, and the sound of many footsteps fills the air, as well as one foreign sound coming in through the open door. Hands suddenly begin to touch and prod him as voices both familiar and unknown begin to fill the air. The overload of sounds and feelings overwhelms him, forcing him to become dizzy and disoriented once again.

As voices try to get a response from him, Cloud feels himself being drawn back to the darkness, only this time something seems to be wrong with wanting that relief. He hears the voices suddenly stop calling him, instead they begin to converse with one another, and soon the hands that have been feeling his stomach are removed, only to be replaced by the sensation of a needle being shoved into his arm.

The world around him begins to blur as the figures begin to move around more. He feels multiple sets of hands work to pick him up and wrap him in a warm, but rough blanket. He can vaguely hear Sephiroth arguing with someone in the background, but for now he is concentrating more on the arms holding him and carrying him across the room, than to something that seems so far away.

When he is suddenly assaulted by the bitter wind of the night, his mind gains some clarity, but only enough to get a vague idea of what is happening. He can see Sephiroth storming towards him, the strange woman he met earlier in the day standing back closer to the cluster of buildings. Between Sephiroth and himself, Cloud is able to make out a small handful of tail and earless beings. Humans.

The surprise at actually seeing this many humans at a time like this is quite alarming, but what is even more so, is that the ones carrying him are heading directly towards a helicopter that sitting ready to go just a short distance away.

In a matter of moments, Cloud is being passed to another group of humans that appear to have been waiting for this group to arrive. Immediately, he is placed onto a small stretcher, and secured on to it so as to not move around too much during the flight.

The last thing that Cloud is able to see before the small group of humans blocks his view as they attempt to take his vitals, is Sephiroth bending to climb into the helicopter as well. As soon as the older neko is aboard, the sound of the engine grows louder and the helicopter takes off heading to an unknown destination.


	8. New Place

Chapter 7

Once again, Cloud finds himself in a place of dark awareness. Where he is not fully conscious of what is occurring around him, but he is able to think coherently and understand where exactly he is physically and emotionally.

The first and only thing that stands out immediately in his mind is the feeling of emptiness. The feeling that something is missing that has been there for quite some time, is now, suddenly gone. And though he cannot quite figure out what exactly it is that is missing, he knows that it is important, and should not be gone.

These thoughts of what is missing swirl around his mind, trying to hold him down, to make him think of other things that are missing from him. Things and people like Zack.

"—d."

"—oud."

"Cloud."

"Cloud, I need you to wake up now."

Cloud's eyes begin to flutter open at the sound of his name. And though his vision is still blurry, what he can see rocks him to the core.

"Zack?"

He can see the blurry figure before him move slightly. "Cloud, I need you to listen to me. My name is not Zack. My name is Angeal and I need you to wake up now."

"Zack. What are you . . ?"

A hand gently, but firmly grabs the side of Cloud's face, forcing him to focus. "Cloud, please listen to me. My name is Angeal Hewley. I do not know who this 'Zack' is, but I need you to focus. I need you to come back to reality."

Cloud's eyes force themselves to observe the still slightly blurry figure before him. Nearly shoulder length black hair pulled away from the strangers face brings back more images of Zack, as the hairstyles are nearly the same, however, that is where the similarities end. Slightly darker skin and eyes even a brighter blue than his own reveal to him the truth behind this neko's words.

Slowly, Cloud lets his gaze fall away from the man before him, and further into the room around him. The room itself is rather plain. Clean white walls, and single metal door come into his immediate view, but what brings a bit of alarm to the back of Cloud's mind. But for him, the most disturbing aspect is the fact that the room is completely empty and devoid of anything except the bed that he is lying on, and the older neko standing beside him.

Slowly, Cloud tries to push himself upright, hoping that maybe he missed something, but a sharp pain in his lower abdomen stops him from getting too far. He feels a strong pair of hands gently ease him forward a bit more, as one eases away to rearrange the pillows behind him to help him sit up better.

Once Cloud is in a better position, he notices one very startling thing. His stomach has shrunk back to its normal size. No longer it is swollen with a full litter, instead, he is left with a slight feeling of emptiness and panic at this discovery.

He licks his dry lips and cringes a bit when his voice threatens to crack with disuse. "What happened? And who are you exactly?"

The neko who calls himself Angeal looks down at the ground for a moment before taking a seat at the edge of Cloud's bed. He doesn't look directly at Cloud, but his words are still strong and clear.

"All I know about you is that they brought you here about two weeks ago. There was a sudden bustling of activity and everyone that was deemed unnecessary was rushed out of the medical wing and you were brought in unconsciously on a stretcher. I couldn't tell much of what was going on, there was too much blood. But one look at you explained it all before I was pushed out with the rest. The only way for someone like you to end up in a place like this is because you were either caught and accordingly dragged here. Or, someone turned you in for some reason. And seeing so much blood certainly falls into an appropriate reason."

He lifts himself up a bit more and looks at Cloud before continuing. "Now I personally was not there for the rest, but I have it on very good authority what happened after I was pushed out." He clears his throat before continuing. "Apparently you went into labor very prematurely, and in order to try to save both you and your litter, the doctors here ended up giving you a cesarean birth for your litter. After that the cubs were rushed out of the room, while a few of the doctors stayed behind to patch you up. You've been asleep ever since."

As Angeal's words fade into the air, something catches Cloud's attention. "What do you mean a place like this? What exactly this place?"

Angeal releases a soft sigh as sadness creeps into his eyes. "This place itself has no name, but most simply refer to the business conducted here as the Breeding Program. It is a place where people believe that bearers like you are sent to be able to remain safe from society, and to expand the neko population as much as possible. However, things are not always what they appear to be. Especially here."

Silence fills the air as Angeal becomes lost in his own thoughts. Cloud can see even more sadness creeping into his eyes. "But that doesn't explain exactly what this place is. And for that matter you have yet to tell me who exactly who you are. Or even why someone like you is here for that matter."

Angeal lifts his head again, this time a slight glimmer of light and joy can be seen. "To make a long explanation short, I'll say this much for the time being. I used to be part of the Shinra SOLIDER unit many years ago. But I could tell that the slight peace there between the humans and nekos working alongside each other was wearing thin. After my childhood friend, Genesis, left believing that he couldn't take the harsh environment any longer, I made up my mind to follow him, leaving an apprentice and everything I knew behind.

"Eventually I found him here, and as a result, I've been here ever since. But that won't be for too much longer, seeing as time is finally catching up with him."

His eyes seem to drift off again, and Cloud is beginning to become impatient. "But that still doesn't explain what this place is."

A spark of something Cloud cannot register crosses Angeal's vision. And before he can do or say anything else, the older neko heads out of the small room.

Wondering what he could have possibly said, Cloud prepares himself to apologize if he sees Angeal again, but never completely finishes his preparations as Angeal reenters the room. He has with him a wheelchair and a set of clothing.

He stops and nods towards the chair and clothing. "Let's get this over with so that you can get moving faster. There's something you need to see before you can truly understand."

….

After much time, pain, and struggle, Cloud manages to get into the fairly loose fitting white clothes with some assistance from Angeal. Even though it took so much time, Cloud still feels overly exhausted for such a simple task.

So to make things easier for himself, Angeal simply deposits him in the wheel chair, and after making sure that Cloud's tail is out of the way, sets off down the hall with the young neko.

Cloud looks around eagerly, trying to find out as much as he can about this place known as the 'Breeding Program' and what it could possibly want him for. After the short trip down the hall, Angeal carefully maneuvers Cloud into another room, this one much larger, though nearly as bland as the last.

The first thing to catch Cloud's eye is the massive amount of machines in the room. The second, and the most important, is the small seemingly box like structure that Angeal is steering him towards. Inside the semi clear box are three very small neko cubs. More importantly, they are three small snow leopard neko cubs, whose spots are just staring to show on their small tails.

Cloud gently puts his hand on the incubator, as though hoping to actually be able to reach through and touch them, even if only to reassure himself that they are real.

As though sensing his presence, the three cubs before him slowly begin to open their eyes revealing the brightest and most startling thing that Cloud has yet to see. Each of the cubs has brilliant bright emerald eyes, clearly a trait from their sire. They look at Cloud with their weak, and mostly unseeing eyes, and Cloud's heart aches at the sight. For not only do they look so much like their sire already, but it brings up what he might have seen if he had been able to keep Zack's litter.

As if sensing his negative thoughts, the cub in the middle begins to scrunch up its tiny face and begins to wail at the top of its lungs. And soon as one starts, the other two are distressed enough to begin to add in their cries.

Moments later, another door is opened and a man and a couple of nurses dash into the room. They head directly for the crying trio and begin yelling at Cloud and Angeal to leave and for even being there in the first place.

As Angeal begins to take them out of the room, Cloud tries to get up and run over to the crying triplets, but his own injuries and weakness force him to stop after just a few steps. The man comes over and continues to yell at him, but is cut off when Angeal places a hand on Cloud's shoulder.

"I wouldn't be yelling at him to leave if I were you. You don't know who he is, do you? Take a good look. That should tell you everything you need to know."

The man with the yellow-orange shirt and lab coat stares at Cloud for a moment before his eyes widen. He takes a step back, obviously fearing repercussions for what he tried to do.

He staggers for a moment before stepping out of Cloud's way, and urging the nurses to follow him out of the room. As soon as they are gone, Cloud slowly makes his way back to the still crying triplets. As he reaches them he discovers that the lid to the incubator is open, and that he is actually able to touch his cubs.

As he lets his hand drift softly against the three cubs, each of them immediately calms down at the contact, making Cloud give a small smile. Hearing soft footfalls behind him, Cloud turns to seen Angeal urging him back into the wheelchair before he hurts himself any more. After taking a seat and expecting to be taken away from his cubs once again, he is surprised when Angeal steps over to the incubator and one by one, settles them into Cloud's arms.

Within moments, the cubs are returned once again to their sleep, and Cloud is giving them a slightly wistful look. Angeal notices this.

"Kadaj, Loz, and Yazoo." Seeing Cloud look up with confusion, Angeal clarifies. "Those are the names that their sire gave them."

Cloud looks down, slightly saddened that he wasn't able to at least have some input as to what their names would be, but at the same time, there is nothing he can do to change it now. As he turns his attention back to the sleeping cubs, a thought strikes his mind.

"Angeal, you said that you used to work for Shinra as a SOLIDER right?" After seeing a slightly confused nod from Angeal, Cloud continues. "What was the name of that apprentice you said that you left behind?"

Angeal's eyes brighten and a smile is made noticeable. "I don't think I'll ever forget someone quite like that. He may have been an eager neko, but it bordered on the same levels of untrained puppies. Always excited over something. Yes, Zackary Fair was defiantly the most energetic person I ever met. And he always did those strange squats all the time." He looks thoughtful for a moment. "Depending on what he did after I left, he's probably off exploring somewhere, or maybe he's been lucky enough to find himself a nice girl and now has little untrained puppies to keep himself occupied with now." He gives Cloud another curious look. "Why do you ask?"

Cloud raises his head to look at Angeal, tears glittering in his eyes. "He's dead."

Angeal's eyebrow shoots up. "What do you mean 'he's dead'? Do you know what happened to Zack?"

Tears begin to silently slip from Cloud's eyes. "Zack Fair is dead. He came to my village more than a year ago with a few others who left Midgar. He died trying to save me."

Angeal's look softens, but is still slightly confused. "What was he trying to save you from?"

"Sephiroth."

"But I thought that Sephiroth is your mate."

Cloud releases a dark chortle. "He may be the sire of my cubs, but he is not my mate. The only one that will ever hold that title is Zack Fair."

Angeal reaches a hand forward and gently sets it on Cloud's shoulder. "I'm sorry, I didn't know. I shouldn't have jumped to conclusions before knowing all of the facts."

Cloud looks up at him with water eyes. He takes the back of his currently unoccupied hand and attempts to wipe the tears away. "It's okay. You didn't know."

As Cloud's tears seem to not be stopping for the time being. Angeal quietly and gently scoops the cubs up and puts them back into the incubator. Taking time to make sure that everything is closed again.

He gently shakes Cloud to get his attention, and once he sees those watery blue eyes, he simply says, "Let's take a break for a while. I hear that lunch will be available soon."

Cloud nods his head. "Lunch. Yes, that would probably be good."


	9. Changes

Chapter 8

While it is true that Angeal proved to be a good distraction for Cloud, Cloud soon found something else to become even more distracted with.

Roughly a week after meeting Angeal, Cloud is able to get around just fine on his own, even if his energy reserves are still a bit low. He can manage to find most of the important areas in this place known as the Breeding Program, or at least the ones that he deems to be important. First and foremost on his list is the room where his cubs are still being kept. While they have all managed to have their ears open up, proving to not be Bearers, a great relief for Cloud; they have become increasingly vocal and demanding.

Cloud quickly discovers that the middle kitten of the group, Kadaj, is easily the most vocal and demanding of the litter, but as soon as he starts crying, it is a sure bet that Loz and Yazoo will not be far behind. But on their own, Kadaj is still overly demanding, but not as vocal about it, Loz is very vocal for both things good and bad, and Yazoo is the quietest of the bunch, simply trying to maintain some type of contact. To say that each of the cubs is unique is true, but when put together; they prove to be quite a handful for Cloud.

That led Cloud to enjoy his second most important place all the more. That second place is the cafeteria where he is occasionally able to run into Angeal. When the two of them are able to meet and talk, Cloud feels like there really is something more to what seems to be happening to him personally, and that knowledge helps him to relax a bit more in this environment. However, the one thing that talking to Angeal does, is make Cloud realize that Angeal has a plan to leave this place, and that it will happen soon. But for the protection and safety of Cloud and his cubs, they will have to stay behind until Angeal can gather some help to come back for them and anyone else stuck in the Breeding Program.

And while that hope is a small comfort for Cloud, he still is saddened by this knowledge. Especially since at nearly the two week date of first meeting Angeal, Cloud is moved into a new room that is farther away from his cubs, but is shared with one other neko, Sephiroth. To say that this new arrangement fills Cloud with dread is a fair statement, however, after already having spent so much time in the past with Sephiroth, Cloud knows vaguely what to expect.

The night begins off very simply, Cloud is led to the room first, finding it very simple, but useful, but with Sephiroth nowhere to be seen. The room itself is nothing impressive, just another set of white walls with a bed large enough for two pushed against one of the walls, a small half wall separates off a bathroom area with a small shower, a single small sink, and toilet all fitted in a very small area. However, that half wall does not quite reach past shoulder height for Cloud, leaving all hopes for at least some privacy practically nonexistent. The only other thing in the room, is a single closet filled with the same basic white clothes that Cloud has been wearing ever since he woke.

After giving the room a quick look over, and knowing that at any moment, Sephiroth could be let in, Cloud resigns himself to his fate and silently makes his way over to the bed. He rolls onto his side to face the wall, hoping that maybe, just maybe, for one night Sephiroth will leave him be.

He does not know how long he is left in silence, but that stillness in the room is abruptly broken when the one door in the room squeaks on its hinges and a set of footsteps is heard entering the room. The footsteps stop, and Cloud can hear his name uttered by Sephiroth. He tries to let himself appear to still be calm and sleeping, hoping that his automatic tensing does not give away how aware he is of the situation. As soon as Cloud hears the door squeak shut, he hears the hesitant footsteps of Sephiroth.

….

Sephiroth can hardly believe his eyes when the door to his new room is opened. He had been expecting that the move to a different room had to do with something else that that crazy Dr. Hojo had wanted to try on him since he arrived here. That crazy person has seemed overjoyed at every little thing he does to Sephiroth, and Sephiroth fears that one day he might try the same thing on Cloud.

So, to see Cloud lying there in this new room brings feelings of happiness and uncertainty to Sephiroth. He has been waiting for weeks to see his young mate again, hoping that he is alright, and that nothing has happened to him, and to just see him lying there so peacefully brings the urge to simply hold him, and protect him from this place.

He hesitantly makes his way across the room, still not quite sure if this is all a dream or something else out of Hojo's twisted mind. He reaches out a slightly trembling hand and gently caresses Cloud's cheek, taking in the slight heat and smooth skin under his touch. Feeling slightly more confident in the situation, Sephiroth takes a seat on the bed, taking care not to shift it too much. He gives it a few moments to see that his mate is still asleep, before he gently repositions Cloud into his arms, allowing him to hold his young mate close to the first time in weeks.

The feeling of the smaller body presses against his own, and the slight scent that is unique to Cloud fills Sephiroth with a feeling of completeness. Sephiroth allows himself to relax for the first time since his arrival. The knowledge that his mate might be hurt or even dying somewhere in the facility has been plaguing him, and now that he has him in his arms once more, Sephiroth is finally able to put those feelings of fear and regret behind him.

As the night draws on, the feeling of having his mate back lulls Sephiroth into a pleasant state of semi-unconsciousness, that is abruptly broken when a small alarm fills the room. Sephiroth jumps at the abrupt sound, and is automatically shifted and pulled against as Cloud is suddenly forced back into reality by the alarm.

….

Cloud pulls himself away from Sephiroth as the alarm continues to sound. While he will admit that it was sort of nice to be held by Sephiroth in such a gentle manner, he knows what the alarm means, and what will happen if he does not react quickly.

After scrambling off of Sephiroth and the bed, Cloud makes his way to the door. He knocks quickly on it, knowing that by now all of the doors have been locked and the only way out is if someone unlocks it from the outside. Or at least so past experiences would dictate. As he waits for someone to open the door, he turns off the alarm on the small watch on his wrist.

The resulting silence is a welcome relief, but is short lived as the door opens and a masked guard begins leading Cloud down the hall. As Cloud follows him, he is only slightly surprised by the sound of following footsteps, but figures that Sephiroth probably wasn't informed of what is about to happen, and must be naturally curious as a result.

The short trip ends at a room that is very familiar to Cloud, and he enters and sets about his business with no hesitation. Three bottles are already filled and standing on a warming tray waiting for him to pick up and feed his cubs with. Cloud cannot help but give a small smirk at the sight of them, knowing that for some reason, his cubs will only let him feed them, a discovery made after the one known as Dr. Hollander who was supposed to be the one in charge of his cubs, tried to feed them after kicking him and Angeal out of the room on his first visit there. Ever since Cloud has been called, and eventually given an alarm to know when to feed them otherwise no one else can handle them and succeed in the task.

Once Cloud has the bottles, he sets them on a small table and reaches into the small heated crib type contraption that his cubs have been moved into. He reaches in and pulls out Kadaj and Loz and sets to work trying to gently wake them and hoping that they will eat quickly and quietly before then can wake Yazoo, knowing that without help, there is no way for him to be able to hold them all at once.

Loz wakes quickly at his touch and takes the nipple of the bottle into his small mouth with enthusiasm and begins to make small contented grunting sounds as he eats. Kadaj wakes shortly after than and automatically begins screaming, despite Cloud's best attempts to calm him and give him the bottle. Kadaj's crying manages to wake Yazoo, and though Yazoo is normally fairly quiet, he too soon begins to let his annoyance be known.

This continues on for several minutes before Cloud feels a slight tapping on his shoulder. He turns to see Sephiroth right behind him holding out his arms for one of the cubs. Cloud's automatic reaction is to pull back and not let him any closer, but the reality of the situation and the cries of his cubs gets to him. Reluctantly he carefully positions Kadaj into Sephiroth's arms, before handing him the bottle as well.

The result is almost instantaneous. As soon as Kadaj actually looks at who is holding him and two sets of green eyes meet, he calms down and takes the bottle without hesitation. His gaze never leaves that of the man holding him.

….

Sephiroth cannot help but stare at the small cub in his arms. Everything from the color of its eyes to the color of its fluffy hair easily reveals to him that this is indeed his cub. His cub that came from his own mate, despite everything that had happened to them and caused things to turn out the way they had.

As the cub finally manages to finish its bottle and its eyes grow heavy enough for it to be claimed once more by sleep, Sephiroth is finally able to pull his eyes away and look back at his young mate that made all of this possible. He sees Cloud taking care to let the other two cubs take their time slipping back into sleep. He smiles at the gentleness that his mate displays with their cubs and hopes that someday, that small ghost of a smile that he gives them will one day become a full smile, a smile for him.

As though pulled forward by that thought, Sephiroth steps forward, causing Cloud to turn to him. Before his mate can make another sound or movement, Sephiroth leans forward and captures those lips in his own, trying to convey all of his love and amazement of their accomplishments to his mate.

Their lips stay connected in the small but simple kiss for just a small time before his mate pulls away, his cheeks sporting a slight blush. A faint murmuring follows, and Sephiroth cannot help but feel a small amount of satisfaction with his mate's reaction.

"Not now, unless you want to spend the rest of the night trying to get them back to sleep yourself, then be my guest."

As Cloud turns back to settling the cubs, Sephiroth decides that he should come along for this more, not just so that he can see his cubs, but to be able to see his mate look the closest thing to happiness that he has seen so far.

….

A month later, Cloud finds himself barely awake in the cafeteria, his lunch sitting untouched in front of him. His mind feels slow as the late night feedings begin to take their toll on him. Even with Sephiroth following him and helping out each night, it is still overly draining for the young neko. That added with the strange behaviors that Sephiroth has been displaying lately have confused Cloud to no end.

Ever since they have been moved into the same room Sephiroth has made no move to try to mate with him again. Even when his heat came around a couple of weeks ago, all Sephiroth did in that time was simply hold him close and occasionally give him a small chaste kiss, but nothing more physical than that.

While Cloud could appreciate and greatly enjoy and feel generally safe around this new behavior of his, he also cannot help but be suspicious that something else is about to happen, that there is something more sitting just below the surface just waiting for an excuse to break to the surface.

This confliction in thought of what he has been seeing adds greatly to his fatigue, just waiting for something to happen, that might not even be there. With the combination of his own thoughts and the cubs, some days Cloud wonders if it is even worth it to try to look beyond the obvious.

As his thoughts continue to swirl around, he fails to notice the sound of the seat across from him being pulled back across the floor. Nor does he notice a figure taking that seat and scooting back forward.

A moment passes and the figure sets its elbows on the table and places his chin on his folded hands while staring down at Cloud. Eventually the figure finally speaks, startling Cloud back into reality.

"Hello?"

Cloud's eyes snap up at the unfamiliar voice. His eyes briefly meet a mismatched set of blue and gold eyes before they disappear as the figure before him smiles. Cloud quickly takes in the seemingly floating blond hair, pale skin, and familiar white clothes on this new person, but Cloud's eyes widen when he notices the two small golden years nearly hidden in the hair of the newcomer. Ears that are still folded.

As Cloud tries to process what he is seeing, the stranger thrusts out a hand towards him. "Hello there. My name is Fai, what's yours?


	10. Look Away

Chapter 9

Fai quickly became a near constant influence in Cloud's life. The two of them seemed to be constantly near one another after their first encounter, normally only parting ways at the end of the day when they were sent back to their respective rooms, Cloud back to Sephiroth, and Fai back to his mysterious mate known only as Kurogane.

Fai often told Cloud stories of Kurogane, and how the two f them were never actually supposed to meet, but fate had something else in mind. Hearing these stories made Cloud wonder what it would be like to have a mate that cared so much for you, and you in return care the same for them. He supposed he had a taste of that with Zack, but nothing even close ever since his death.

However, such thoughts are usually quickly dispersed, as Fai seems to sense the sense of depression that overcomes Cloud at those times. And so this most well used tactic to distract Cloud is to discuss what he should name his growing litter.

When Cloud first heard the news that Fai was pregnant, he really had a hard time believing it. But after much reaffirming from Fai, and soon an obviously growing bump, Cloud slowly began to accept it.

The two talk often about what would happen now, what might change for good or ill. Fai tries to convince Cloud that nothing will really change; just a few more screaming kids, and more naps would be all. Cloud does not believe that that will really happen, after all, it did not end that way for him.

Seeing that kittens seem to still be a bit of a sore spot for Cloud, Fai tries to change his attitude, but with such bad circumstances and memories, some things are easier said than done.

Another thing that soon changes for Cloud is that the kittens are moved into the room that Cloud has been sharing with Sephiroth. While there might not be much room to begin with, the kittens are usually kept in a single crib that is big enough for the three of them. A simple changing table is also added, but they are still led back to their original room for feeding time.

Fai often helps with the kittens for the feedings. For the two Bearers, their mates are often away and being put through more tests and experiments by Hojo. And while for now aside from exhaustion, neither of their mates have had that many negative side effects, but there is always the potential that something will happen. After all, when the only times that they get to spend the most time together is during a heat cycle, then anything can happen.

….

Just before the triplets would turn a year old, Fai suddenly disappeared out of Cloud's life. And even though Cloud knows that he left only so that he could better take care of himself and his impending litter, the separation still managed to cut Cloud. Having gone to seeing at least one person that could relate to him nearly everyday and then going to practically being by himself proves to be quite a shock. Not only that, but the only reliable help that he has been getting to help take care of the triplets has all but disappeared.

With Sephiroth gone more often than not, Cloud is truly on his own.

On one of the rare nights that Cloud is actually able to get some sleep between feedings, the door to the room opens and sluggish footfalls make their way in. Sephiroth does not even spare his sleeping cubs a glance as he progresses towards the figure lying on the bed. The faint smell of heat fills his nostrils the closer he comes, and that scent drives him over the edge.

Cloud is thrust back into reality by a strong grip seemingly crushing his left arm. He is dragged up to meet Sephiroth's gaze. Eyes brighter than normal meet his startled gaze, pupils almost completely dilated to the point of only having a thin rim of glowing green surrounding them. Something lingers in Sephiroths' gaze, whether it is lust, or rage, Cloud cannot tell. All he can determine, that whatever that gaze means, it is one of ill will, something that he should fear with every fiber of his being.

Abruptly he is thrown back on the bed, his head hitting the wall with a resounding thud. Sephiroth quickly crawls on top of him, effectively pinning him down. A hand gently caresses Cloud's cheek bringing tears of fear to his blue eyes.

Sephiroth leans down so that his mouth is by Cloud's ear. "I leave for such a short amount of time and I would have thought that you would be pleased to see me. Obviously I was wrong." He leans back again, looking Cloud directly in the eye. "But then again, when were you ever happy to see me? When did you ever great me with a smile, or even a simple greeting?"

He abruptly stands, bringing Cloud with him. He begins to pace the short span of the room, his hand now back to grasping Cloud's arm, dragging him along. "You never have showed me anything to indicate anything but loathing for me. Even after all I have done for you, every sacrifice I have made, you have spurned me at every turn." He stops, and turns and releases his hold on Cloud, sending him sprawling into the half wall dividing the bathroom area.

His voice lowers and reverberates throughout the room. "I've tried to be nice, to hold myself back. To let you come to me of your own free will, but I see that has failed. So do you know what that means, Cloud?"

Cloud tries to back further into the wall, dread filling him with each of Sephiroth's words. While he will not deny that he holds no affection towards Sephiroth, he also knows from the last nearly two years that this is not normal behavior for Sephiroth. While he can be ruthless and even brutal on occasion, never before has he so readily displayed such violence towards Cloud at any time. That alone tells him that there is something seriously wrong with Sephiroth, but whatever it is has too strong of a hold for him to break on his own.

He risks a quick peek up at Sephiroth, but seeing those glowing eyes reaffirms his fears. While this may not be his normal behavior, somewhere in all of this madness, Sephiroth is still there; completely aware of what he is doing.

Whatever Sephiroth sees in Cloud's quick look is more than enough to bring a sadistic smile to his face. He steps forward and crouches down to be eye level to Cloud. "It means my little puppet, that I'm going to do things at my own pace now. You probably won't like it, but then again, you have no say in any of this do you? After all, from now on, you are nothing but my own personal puppet."

As the last words leave his mouth, he grabs Cloud's throat and begins to drag him upward as he stands. Sephiroth looks him in the eyes again, reveling in the fear he can see there. "Now, scream for me, my little puppet."

Cloud looks desperately around the room, anywhere but at the neko before him. The crushing pain around his throat urges him to cry out, to struggle, and scream for relief. But as his gaze travels around the room, he can see two small green eyes looking out at him.

Panic fills Cloud even more when he realizes that if Sephiroth does not get what he wants, he could easily turn his focus on to the cubs. And Cloud has no doubts that Sephiroth would not hesitate to hurt them right now.

Cloud quickly looks away, and silently urges Yazoo to go back to sleep, lest he accidently wake up the others, or worse, have to witness what is happening. However, Cloud quickly looks back, praying that his mental pleading will have at least made the cub look away. To his relief, all he can see are three small cubs curled up together under a blanket, seemingly all asleep.

Knowing that he needs to do whatever he can to not wake the cubs, he resolves himself to trying his best not to scream, no matter what happens.

Seeing Cloud avert his gaze, Sephiroth follows his line of sight, letting it settle on the cubs. A smirk makes its way to his mouth. He slightly loosens his grip on Cloud's neck, allowing the younger neko some much-needed air. "Do you want to play a little game, puppet? I'm going to make you scream and beg for mercy. You need to try to not wake the children. After all, they're not old enough to see things like this yet." A wicked look gleams in his eyes. "But then again, maybe it's never too early to learn some things."

With that, Cloud can feel the pressure on his throat disappear, letting the cool air leave a burning path to his lungs. A small cough escapes, further igniting the gleam in Sephiroth's eyes.

Sephiroth leans forward, forcing his way into a crushing kiss, effectively depriving Cloud of any chance to respond or deflect his movement. Sephiroth's tongue force's its way in, practically choking Cloud even further as it explores his mouth to the fullest extent, not caring for any brash movements.

In a moment of retaliation, Cloud bites down on the invading muscle, forcing Sephiroth to jerk back. The result is a fist directly to his nose, causing it to heat up as blood rushes from the wound and down his face and onto his once white clothes.

Sephiroth's eyes seem to dilate even further at the sight. "You never told me that red is such a fitting color on you. No matter, I'll make sure that you wear more of it from now on."

He leans forward once more, taking care to kiss and lap at the blood freely streaming from Cloud's nose. He then proceeds to litter every visible inch of exposed skin with the crimson liquid.

Once every exposed area has been touched at least once, Sephiroth leans forward once again. "You paint such a lovely picture. Now, if only the rest of you could be so lovely as well."

Cloud feels himself being thrown back on to the bed, landing face-first, causing the bleeding in his nose to flare up again. He is quickly turned over so that he can face his tormentor. Sephiroth wastes no time in tearing the stained clothing away from his body, exposing it to the cold room.

Sephiroth begins to move his hands up and down Cloud's sides, letting his claws extend just enough to draw thin lines of blood with his movements.

Fear begins to trickle even further into Cloud's mind, for the only time he has ever seen Sephiroth use his claws was against another snow leopard neko that had seemed to wrong him in some way. Cloud knows that if he wanted to, Sephiroth could literally slice him to ribbons in mere moments.

Screams of terror and pain threaten to break loose, but Cloud does all that he can to keep them in check, wincing every time a squeak manages to escape. Sephiroth seems to enjoy those moments when Cloud seems about to loose control, for his actions become more aggressive, threatening to do even more damage to the body beneath his.

Just as Cloud feels that he can accept the feeling of the blood trickling away from his new wounds, Sephiroth abruptly flips him over. He grabs Cloud's hips and begins to rub still clothed erection across Cloud's opening.

These motions continue for several minutes before Cloud's hindquarters are abruptly released. Hope tries to ignite within Cloud, but the sounds of clothing being removed behind him are quick to snuff out all sparks. And even more worrisome are the small sniffles and cries that are starting to sound from the cubs on the other side of the room.

Cloud resists the urge to turn to them, to try and comfort them, because he knows that this is something they should never have to see. They should never have to see their parents hurting one another, and right now, Cloud cannot bear for them to see this, and is trying to save them from as much trauma as possible.

In his shame he brings his tail to his mouth, praying that the thick fur might help muffle any sounds from escaping and causing further distress for the cubs.

Abruptly his hindquarters are lifted once again as Sephiroth slams into him, burying himself to the hilt in one swift move. Cloud bites down on his tail, trying desperately to muffle his screams as Sephiroth continues to pound him further into the bed, tearing him further with each movement.

Sephiroth notices his efforts and ceases his movement for a moment to lean down, his breath on Cloud's neck. "I never would have thought that the puppet would try to cheat at this game, but apparently I was wrong. I'll just have to make sure that it understands the consequences for such a dirty trick." He reaches back and yanks on Cloud's tail, making him gasp in shock at the abrupt pain, effectively freeing the tail from his mouth. Sephiroth wastes no time in wrapping his own tail around Cloud's effectively restricting its movements.

After Cloud's tail is in check, Sephiroth returns to his earlier actions, plowing into Cloud even harder than before.

As though sensing their mother's distress, all three of the cubs fully wake from their slumber and begin to scream their little lungs out, though not knowing what is going on before them.

Cloud tries his best to ignore their cries, to try and concentrate on not adding his own. But the moment he feels something tear deep inside of him, he can't help but let loose the scream reminiscent of an animal in grave pain.

In response, the cries of the cubs increase nearly tenfold, and Cloud finds himself to be unable to stop the screams and sobs from escaping his still raw throat.

Frantic movements can be heard outside of the room, but Cloud can hardly hear it between the cries of his cubs, his own cries, and the overbearing sensation of Sephiroth releasing deep inside of him. As much as Cloud wishes that Sephiroth would just be satisfied with his previous actions, he continues on as though he intends to drive his essence as far into Cloud as possible.

As it seems to burn through Cloud, he can faintly hear movement in the background. He soon feels Sephiroth slide out of him, and can hear other voices barking out orders in the room. He feels two sets of hands try to take hold of him, but he uses the last of his energy trying to escape their grasp, not caring anymore if he is screaming or yelling.

Eventually the hands manage to pin his arms and legs down. He feels a small prick in his arm, and within a couple of minutes he can feel his muscles begin to relax. His mind is still alert, but his panic seems to die down, and his screams cease when he can no longer move on his own.

The hands grab him once again and carry him out of the room. As he is dragged out, he catches a glimpse of several facility personal surrounding what appears to be an unconscious Sephiroth on the floor. All of them holding either a needle or a small taser in their hands, ready incase he is not as unconscious as they think. Cloud also manages to catch a glimpse of the cubs; two more facility members are trying to calm them down, trying to hold them, to get them to accept a bottle or even a pacifier. But the triplets simply continue their screaming, not understanding what is going on, and knowing that something is not right.

After they are out of the room, Cloud is placed on a stretcher and an oxygen mask is put over his face. The pure substance helps to ease his throat a bit, but it is still raw from abuse.

The people surrounding him quickly wheel Cloud down the hall and to another area of the facility. Cloud tries to remember the layout of the building to get an idea of where they are going, but from his current view, nothing appears the same.

Within minutes he is pushed through a set of double doors where a team of new people rush over and begin to take his vitals. They try to ask him questions as they take more and more information, but he does not answer them simply because he cannot, and because he does not want any more people to know about his shame than already do.

Eventually one by one the people begin to leave him be, each off to do some task or another. He is pushed into another room, this one with separate areas divided off for some semblance of privacy. He is given a blanket to keep him warm and give him some form of coverage.

Once the facility personal have left, he tries to concentrate on the two soft voices that are drifting down from the other end of the room. Hoping that maybe they can provide an adequate distraction for him to not have to think about what just happened.

However, both the physical and mental pain soon become too much, and he allows himself to concentrate on nothing, encouraging unconsciousness to come and take him to blissful oblivion.

….

The owner of one of the voices from the other side of the room quietly approaches the unconscious form of Cloud. The figure takes a moment to look him over before turning back to where he came from.

Another figure waits for him on the other end. This one sitting up in a bed holding three small kittens in his arms. He looks up as soon as the other returns. "Kurogane, how bad was it?"

The one known as Kurogane simply shakes his head. "I'm not a doctor, so I'm not sure, but usually people don't go about with a black eye and bleeding nose while looking like the rest of them has gone through hell and back."

Fai's eyes seem to dim a bit. "He's so young, he doesn't deserve this." He looks back to his mate. "Do you think that he'll be ok?"

Kurogane sighs. "I can't tell. Other than the physical stuff, all I could smell was blood. If something else is wrong, I couldn't tell you."


	11. The End of One, The Beginning of Another

Chapter 10

Nearly two weeks later, Cloud is released from the medical ward. As he is escorted back towards the room he has come to fear, he is lead past it and instead, steered towards the room that his cubs used to be in. When his escort stops outside of the room and gestures for Cloud to enter, he does but with much trepidation.

When the door fully opens, it reveals that the room itself has changed very much, but the most welcoming site is held within. Fai is sitting in a chair holding a sleeping kitten while two others sleep nearby, nestled between three snow leopard neko cubs. The five of them are sound asleep in one little pile, but they don't seem to care if they are by their siblings or not.

Cloud steps in, feeling as though he is imposing on the sight. Fai looks up and gives him a bright smile. He stands and carefully sets the kitten from his arms in with the others before making his way over to Cloud. The two embrace, but it is brief, for Cloud still shows clear signs of past wounds.

Fai settles for holding one of Cloud's hands and steering him over to the crib now holding six various cubs and kittens. He takes a moment to caress each of his litter before picking the first one up.

Her tufts of dark auburn hair stand out in sharp contrast to the white blanket she is wrapped in. "This on is Kairi. So far she seems to be a little spitfire, but nothing that will be too serious. After all, even now she seems to be fiercely attached to her siblings." He sets Kairi down and gently picks up a second kitten.

"This one is Namine. I can already tell that she's going to be too much like me for her own good. But at least we'll know where she gets it from." Fai gives a bit of a lopsided grin as sets her back in with the others.

The third wakes up when he begins to lift her out from the others. She squirms a bit, but remains silent. "Now this one I made sure had to come out just perfect. After all, I always told Kuro-poo that he needs a daughter just like him. That way the two of them can butt heads all they want. I'm proud to say that Xion should be able to do just that." His grin grows wider with the thought.

As Fai sets Xion back into the mess of kittens, Cloud looks at his own litter. Seeing the three of them sleeping peacefully, with small smiles on their faces brings a sense of relief. He had feared that they would end up being changed somehow because of being awake during that night. But it seems to him that maybe they really are to young to remember, and for that he is grateful.

Fai sees his troubled look and carefully steers him over to a small table and two chairs that have been set up across the room. Cloud takes his seat and is quick to burry his head in his hands. The emotions and memories sweeping through him threaten to overwhelm him.

"You know, you don't have to hold everything in."

Cloud looks up, expecting to see some sort of judgment on Fai's face. Some type of indicator that he is disgusted with Cloud, and wants nothing more to do with him. After all, who could stand to be around someone who has lost all respect for themself.

He looks down again, muttering to himself. "But if I don't hold everything in, then what else do I have?"

A hand takes a gentle hold on his shoulder and gives him a slight shake. "You have everything else. All the good that won't hold you back any longer."

"But what if there's more bad than good?"

"Then you simply have to find more good." The hand falls away, and instead, it gently lifts Cloud's teary eyes to face Fai's sympathetic ones. "But only if you want to find it. It's all up to you. But if you'd like, I'd be more than willing to help. And I know that Kadaj, Yazoo, Loz, Kairi, Namine, Xion, and even Kurogane are willing to help. But only if you'll let us."

The tears spring free as Fai's words hit deeper than he would ever know. With so much bad built up for such a long time, to have someone offer to help, instead of just force their own version of help upon him is something that he can hardly fathom. With so many emotions and possibilities before him, Cloud feels even more confused than before.

Fai let's him cry all that he needs to, and when the tears slow, and Cloud has let the mental exhaustion take over, Cloud finally finds his first peaceful rest in longer than he could care to remember.

When Cloud wakes again, he finds a heavy wiggling weight on his chest. Or more like three wiggling weights to be exact. He opens his eyes to find all three of his cubs lying on top of him. The sight of them all there, and all smiling in their own ways brings a small amount of joy and hope to him.

Cloud turns his head and sees Fai across the room, quietly feeding his girls. Cloud turn away, and takes one last look at his own litter.

"Fai, I don't want to be weak anymore." He pauses trying to articulate his emotions. "I want to be able to defend myself and my cubs. After all, what kind of parent would I be if I can't even do that."

….

Epilogue

In the months that follow, Fai and occasionally Kurogane work together to help train Cloud to be able to defend himself and his litter. They do not progress very quickly for Cloud has his own self esteem issues that he works through, plus the addition of still caring for growing cubs proves to be its own special challenge. Especially after Cloud discovers shortly after beginning his training, that he is carrying another litter.

Almost exactly a year after that, Cloud finds himself back in the medical wing, but this time he is holding a newborn cub his arms. A small boy with little spotted perky ears that he names Riku.

Throughout that whole year, Cloud does not encounter Sephiroth again, though the underlying fear of running into him is a constant. And after Riku is born, that fear escalates.

A month after delivering his cub, Cloud is led out of his new small room near the nursery area, and into a new room. This room contains only two things, a bed and Sephiroth. Cloud knows why he his here, he knows that his heat will begin again at any moment, and those involved with the Breeding Program desire for him to have even more cubs.

That night begins the same as many others that follow. The two are brought to a room with a bed and nothing else besides themselves. Normally Sephiroth is the first to make a move, normally something intended to be nonthreatening, but to Cloud, none of his movements can ever truly be unthreatening again.

Most of these encounters become mostly a heated exchange of sharp words, but every so often, they will accomplish what they were sent to do. Though very rarely does either party leave with anything resolved or changed. Cloud, not being able to forgive Sephiroth for all of his actions, and not being able to forgive himself for not trying harder and standing firm in the past.

About a year after Riku was born, Fai and Kurogane are blessed with another litter. This one containing four boys, three of which prove to be Bearers, something that has never been seen or heard of before. This quickly leads to all sorts of tests and observations on both Fai and Cloud, for people try to see what made the difference, and to see if they can replicate it.

This ends up drawing the attention of a group known as the Noah. And after much deliberation and 'generous donations,' things change drastically around the Breeding Program. The experiments cease, new and better living space is given to the nekos, and all of the nekos are allowed to interact with each other throughout the day, not just every few days.

This of course means that Sephiroth is included in this; however, it is clear by the behavior of the three older nekos that he is not wanted. But they do not make the decisions, and for better or worse, Kadaj, Loz, and Yazoo all seem to have taking a liking to their sire, much to Cloud's dismay.

But for all of the changes, both good and bad, things remain fairly predicable and all of the nekos are able to live in some semblance of harmony. Fai and Kurogane with their seven kittens, Kairi, Namine, Xion, Vanitas, Ventus, Sora, and Roxas get along very well, even if there is squabbling amongst the siblings. Cloud with his smaller batch of cubs, Loz, Kadaj, Yazoo, and Riku get along well enough, but soon it is clear to see that for the older cubs, Sephiroth holds a great amount of influence over them.

….

As the next few years pass, things begin to reach a level of existence where nothing really changes, and life becomes fairly predicable. However, that all changes one day when a new doctor pulls Fai and Cloud aside. With her tightly pulled back dark blond hair, grayish completion, and fiery golden eyes, they can tell that she means business.

As they sit expecting to be told that something very bad is about to happen, she hands them each a photo. In the photo is a young male neko with white hair, silvery eyes, pale skin, and a small red mark across his right eye, a small pentacle resides just above his eyebrow. For a neko that appears to be so young to already have a mark signifying a first heat rattles them both. But even more disturbing for them, is the fact that his small white ears are still tightly folded, signifying that he is a Bearer like them.

Lulubell opens her mouth to finally speak directly to the two of them. "This young neko will be arriving here soon. He has already had a bit of trouble, and has not been around many other nekos, especially other Bearers. We want you to treat him well and help him adjust when he arrives."

Cloud looks at the picture once more before looking up at the Noah doctor. "If you expect us to do all of this for him, can we at least get a name?"

"His name is Allen Walker."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The continuation of this story can be found the sequel, Pouring Rain.


End file.
